The True Victor
by Ayame-chan
Summary: Okay, this takes place at least seven years after AC 197. Peace has finally settled in after a couple of rough years, but has it lasted for good? R&R plz! [COMPLETE]
1. Prologue

The True Victor - Prolouge

Some misc. disclaimers ~ 

1) I do not own Gundam Wing, no matter how much I want to, I don't.

2) The only characters that are mine are those that I made up. (You know, like Alex, his lil sister, Roy, etc., etc.)

3) Do not hurt me, please! Ayame-chan has nothing to give! 

Prolouge

_The year, 195 AC: the final and decisive battle against Earth and the space colonies. The year 196 AC : the beginning of true peace to evolve and the year 197 AC, the word "mobile suits", including the Gundams, were never to be seen or heard from ever again. Yet beneath all those years lies a hidden war on the balance to emerge. As long as mankind continues to exist, there will always be wars..._

196 AC, New Year's Eve ~ Alberta, Canada

An escape siren wails throughout the proximity of an underground base in the isolated depths of Canada. Many of the guards are sprawled about, unconscious. A large group of children reach to the white surface, unaware of the bitter cold and frost. They all gather into a huddle and pay attention to a young boy, probably the leader. His green eyes dart back and forth as he signs to the others where to go. They seem to understand, and split up very quickly.

A command officer comes up a second too late and looks around. "Damn those kids! Oi, Reinhardt!"

Another officer comes up from behind and salutes. "Sir!"

"What's the status of all those kids?"

"It seems that they've all split up. Many are too quick to intercept, sir. Our soldiers can't get the right moment when to fire the paralyzing darts."

The command officer growled in anger. "Kuso...How long will they reach the perimeter at their individual speeds?"

"The closest ones to the proximity are about ten minutes away, sir."

He cursed to himself again. "Contact perimeter at once! Fire the paralyzers before they leave or else it would be impossible to locate them after!"

Reinhardt saluted again. "Yes, sir!"

The commanding officer took out a cigarette and lit it. He took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Damn those kids. If we even lose one of them, headquarters will get us."

Meanwhile, the leader is following behind another boy who is carrying his younger sister on his back. He looks around eleven, with midnight hair and gray eyes. The little girl on his back is around three, and sleeping peacefully. They pause for a moment to catch their breaths.

"How much farther, Roy?" The gray-eyed boy asked. He shifted his sister a bit.

"Not much," Roy answered. They glance back at the wandering beams coming closer to them. "C'mon, Andy. We'll make it."

Their movement caught the eyes of one of the beams, and they continued to run. Gunfire sang out, and Roy fell. Andy turned around. "Roy!"

Roy lifted his head. "Don't worry about me! Just get the hell out of here!"

Andy took a step back and headed to the perimeter. Roy smiled, and still smiled even when the guards picked him up and carried him back to the prison which he hated all so much. _Good luck, Andy. I'll be seeing ya soon._

Andy ran as fast as he could, using some maneuvers he just learned to dodge the upcoming paralyzers. He then shifted his sleeping sister from his back and cradled her in his arms as he easily slid under the fence of the perimeter. But passing through it didn't mean that he totally escaped.

His voice was barely audible as he ran through the thick of the forest. "C'mon, c'mon, just a little more until I reach the road."

He did reach it in just a matter of minutes, mustering all the strength he could to not collapse. A van stopped in front of him and opened. Heero was in the driver's seat.

"Get in."

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay, not your typical story by Ayame-chan, but hey this is what I thought of at the spur of the moment! Hope you enjoyed it! Please R&R!


	2. Chapter One

The True Victor: Chapter One

Some misc. disclaimers ~ 

1) I do not own Gundam Wing, no matter how much I want to, I don't.

2) The only characters that are mine are those that I made up. (You know, like Alex, his lil sister, Roy, etc., etc.)

3) Do not hurt me, please! Ayame-chan has nothing to give! 

Chapter One 

203 AC, seven years later after 197 AC ~ Dorlain Mansion

A tall, slim girl stood in front of Relena Dorlain's mainsion. She had short, black hair in which the ends playfully dangled at her chin. In her hands was a piece of paper and a duffel bag. They were both trembling nervously, before and after she rang the doorbell, but she took a deep breath and told herself to be calm. The door was answered by an elderly man who looked too old to be working, but was misjudged by the youthful look in his eyes.

"May I help you, miss?"

"Anno...I'm...I'm Gally," the girl managed to say. She took another deep breath and let her violet eyes look directly into his pale green. "Gally Trepes."

"Oh, Miss Trepes?" the elderly man replied. He stepped aside and made a gesture to enter. "Please, please come in. Relena-san has been waiting to meet you." He motioned a servant standing by the stairs. "Let's take your luggage upstairs."

Gally entered the home slowly, a bit stunned by all the kindness she was getting. "Arigatou," she answered softly.

The man and the servant took her bag and disappeared up the steps. A short while afterwards, Relena entered looking as if she just came back from a meeting. She greeted Gally with a warm smile.

"So, we finally meet. How are you, Gally?"

"Umm...I'm fine. Thank you for taking me in, Relena-san."

"Well, it must have been hard for you to travel from place to place, family to family. And just call me Relena."

St. Gabriel's Institute

"Class," the headmistress called in a loud voice that echoed throughout the room. "I'd like you to meet Gally Trepes. She's just transferred here, so please, let her feel at home." She leaned and whispered into Gally's ear, "You can take a seat next to Maya-san over there."

She did as she was told and the girl named Maya greeted her with a cheerful smile. Gally smiled back, and took her seat. Then the headmistress began to continue with the day's lesson. Maya leaned over to Gally and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry about making friends. It's pretty easy."

Gally whispered back to her red-head classmate. "Are you sure?"

"Definetely. You're not the only one who just transferred here." Her green eyes darted to a young man in the corner on the opposite side. "See him? That's Andrew Lowe. He just transferred here a week ago."

The two both leaned back to their seats. Gally looked at Andy for a moment, who seemed to be sleeping, but then he opened his eyes. Gray met violet for a split second, then they looked back at the headmistress who was showing the class a poster about the space colonies.

lunchtime

Gally was sitting alone, admiring the view and absently munching on a celery stick. She was a bit distracted until Maya came up from behind with her lunch. 

"Hey, do you mind if I eat lunch with you?" she asked.

"No, I don't mind."

Maya sat down next to her. "So, how long have you been in the area?"

"I just got here yesterday."

"You're living with Relena-san, right?"

Gally was a bit surprised at the question. "How did you know?"

Maya smiled. "I lived at her home for a couple of years until I decided to leave and go off on my own. She took in a lot of people, mainly orphans."

"Oh."

Andy walked past by them without saying a word.

"Is he always like that?" Gally asked, still staring at him as he rode on his motorcycle and drove away.

"Yeah, pretty much so far," Maya answered, also looking in the same direction. "There's been rumors that he leaves early because he's some sort of street fighter or something like that."

"Street fighter? Nah, he doesn't seem like it."

"Well, how do you know?"

"How do you know that those rumors are true?"

Maya was silenced for a moment. Gally took that as a response. "I've had rumors like that put on me before. He doesn't strike me as the type to fight for the hell of it."

"Yeah, but, he doesn't talk to anybody at all. He only talks when he's told to," Maya explained.

Gally got up, putting her lunch away. She looked down at Maya. "Why don't we follow him to see what he's really like?"

"B-but we don't have a pass! We might get caught by the mistress!"

She arched an eyebrow then started to head to the parking lot. "So? I've done this lots of times before. Besides, DON'T you want to find more about him?"

Maya got up as well and followed her. "Yeah, but..."

"But what? Trust me, we're not going to get caught."

downtown section of a city

Maya and Gally were following Andy around town in a motorcycle similar to his, just a bit older version of it. They eventually stopped in front of a white building surrounded by brick wall and an iron gate at the front.

"What is this place?" Gally asked as they leaned on one side of the alleyway.

"It's the School for the Gifted. All these child-geniuses go here," Maya answered.

"It looks more like a metal institution to me."

Maya giggled. "That's what I thought, too. And it's so quiet in there, I wonder if those kids ever go crazy."

They both laughed silently together when suddenly a bell rang. The iron gates opened, and a swarm of children came piling out. Andy just sat there against his bike, waiting. Then a young girl ran to him. She looked around twelve or so, but was small for her age. Her black hair was tied in a loose braid.

"Oniichan! Oniichan! Guess what?"

Maya and Gally looked at each other, repeating the girl's words. "Oniichan?"

"That's what," Andy answered, chuckling and handing her his helmet. "So, how's school?"

"Pretty good. Look what I got on my project!"

The girl showed him a piece of paper as she put the helmet on and got on the bike. Andy was busily reading it as he got on as well. Then he grinned a drop-dead-gorgeous grin. "That's great, Kitsune."

"Can I show Hee-chan this?!?" Kitsune asked Andy excitedly.

"Sure, I bet he would be proud. You ready?" Andy started up the engine.

"Uh-huh," Kitsune answered as she held tight onto him.

"Okay, let's go."

They drove away, leaving Gally and Maya absolutely speechless.

"That looked like his little sister," Gally murmured after a few seconds of silence.

"Who would've thought that HE would have a sister," Maya commented. "And who's this 'Hee-chan' that that girl's talking about?"

Gally shrugged and then looked at Maya. "Do I prove my point now? Looks can be deceiving."

"Um...yeah, you can say that again," Maya said.

_I wonder what he's really like?_ Gally thought, smiling to herself.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay, kinda weird, but hey! It works! And um...I think you guys know by now who 'Hee-chan' is...heheheh. ^_^


	3. Chapter Two

The True Victor: Chapter Two

Chapter Two

203 AC ~ Dorlain Mansion

"I'm ho--me!!"

Those were the first words she ever said to any of the foster homes she had lived with. Gally had no clue why, but she felt that this home would be her last. Of course, the servants immediately ran in. They took her bag in which she insisted that she carry on her won, but they took it anyway. Relena had written to Gally that she was at a meeting with L1's represenatives and will be back home soon. Gally smiled to herself. She was used to being alone, so it didn't matter to her but she was glad that Relena actually cared. Going upstairs to her room, she smiled to herself once more when the thought of Andy came to mind. He was cute, she had to admit, but it was his attitued that intrigued her. He was just so...mysterious. Lying on the bed, she sighed and closed her eyes, dreaming about those cold grey eyes.

somewhere near the Dorlain mansion

Heero sat on the front porch of the home, staring up at the sky. He was bored. He had finished the paperwork, was done with the garden, and had completed all the chores in the house that he was assigned to since it was his day to do so. It had been seven years since he had done any mission whatsoever, seven years since he picked up his "family" in Alberta. All around him was peace, and Heero adjusted to it very well. He never liked being a Gundam pilot; it was only becuase he had to. Thoughts were disrupted by the rumbling of an engine fading away and a familiar girl's giggling. Looking back in front, Kitsune quickly took off her helmet and jumped off the bike as Andy was leaning the motorcyle to the side.

"Hee-chan!!!" She ran to Heero, waving a piece of paper in her hands.

He grinned, standing up from his place, arms wide open. He lifted her up in the air and swung her around. Kitsune giggled like crazy as Andy walked toward them, shaking his head but with a smile on his face. Kitsune was small for her age and was very, very light. She ate like a pig when it came to food, but it was her metabolism that let her stay thin and small. Being on the ground once again, she giggled even more.

"Hey, so how's everything going so far with school, you two?" Heero asked.

Kitsune gave him a charming grin, answering, "Just f--ine!!"

Andy, being older, replied the same thing but a more like a normal human being. Heero smiled to himself, Andy reminding of himself seven years ago. Just a bit more social than how he was, but otherwise the same. Kitsune brought Heero out of his memories by waving the piece of paper she had in her hand.

"Hee-chan, look what I got on my project!!"

She handed him the paper as he began to read. After a couple of seconds, a bit grin spread across his face. 

Rustling Kitsune's dark hair a bit, "That's great! Why don't we take the night off and celebrate?"

Her face brightened in childish delight. She pumped fists in the air and ran into the home, shouting a cute "Wai!!!"

Heero and Andy shook their heads, bemused. Kitsune was twelve going on thirteen, yet she still acted like a nine year old girl in some ways. In other ways, however, she was much like an adult. Which reminded Heero of something.

"Andy, do you mind going to this for me?"

He handed Andy an invitation that was elaborately decorated. Andy frowned as he read. 

"A reunion? Shouldn't you go?" he asked.

Heero shook his head. "Ie. I haven't been to one of those ever since they started. And I don't plan on going to."

"Why's that?"

"I'm ready!!!" Kitsune's voice rang out.

She stood at the doorway, decked in a colorful T-shirt and cutoff jeans. Her braid was let down, so her hair curved around the features of her small face. Heero grinned, being distracted from the current topic at hand. Andy rolled his eyes. _Heero's getting way too relaxed these days..._

"You sure got dressed quickly, Kitsune," Heero commented. He took out the keys from his jeans pocket, shooting a look at Andy that said _I'll explain to you later._ "Let's go, shall we?"

Kitsune jumped up and down before running to the side of the house where the car was parked.

Andy just rolled his eyes again and muttered a "whatever" before following.

Dorlain Mansion

Gally and Relena wer having a quiet dinner together. Gally talked about school, how she met Maya, and Andy's strange account. Of course, she didn't tell her the actual story that she and Maya cut school in order to see where Andy was going. Relena hung onto every word she said. She had met Andrew Lowe before. He was a gentleman with a quiet demeanor and attitude very much like Heero's. That was when she started daydreaming about Heero again until Gally tuned her back in.

"...and that's about it," Gally finished.

"Seems like you've had a good first day," Relena smiled.

Gally returned the smile. "I guess so," she said as she began picking her food uncomfortably. "The people here are really nice."

"They are, aren't they? Oh, that reminds me, Gally," Relena took out an elaborately decorated invitation. "Would you like to come with me on a reunion?" She gave the invitation to her.

"A reunion?" Gally took the invitation and began skimming through it. "What kind of reunion?"

"Oh, it's with some old friends of mine. We have them once every other year. So, would you like to come?"

Gally smiled, still reading the invitation. "And take a break off school? Sure, I would LOVE to go, Relena!"

Relena chuckled. "Well, you're way ahead of the classes you're taking since the colonies have a different education system, so I thought you'd like to come. I'm sorry if it's such short notice."

Gally looked at her, her violet eyes twinkling in delight. "Oh, no, no, no, no! Not short notice at all. Actually, I think it would be pretty cool to meet your friends."

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay, a bit weird, yes. I didn't really know how to end this chapter. Oh, and yes, Andy is starting to act more and more like Squall Leonhart from FF8, but I dunno, it just kinda fits in that way!_


	4. Chapter Three

The True Victor: Chapter Three

Chapter Three

203 AC ~ Winner Mansion, Earth

It was the day of the reunion planned and everyone was glad to see one another after so long. Almost everybody came. Trowa had arrived late, but still managed to come after years on end of not coming due to what he said were "personal issues." Relena had been the first to arrive with Gally, uncomfortable in a formal dress.

She was wearing a pale blue dress that came up to mid-thigh, slanted. The top looked like it was made out of two pieces like a robe, baring her shoulders. Everyone said it looked good on her, but Gally still felt uncomfortable. She was a tomboy at heart and would rather wear a T-shirt and jeans than a fancy dress with five inch heels that made her feel a bit off balance. 

Wufei arrived next with his fiancee, Mai-Ling, who was wearing a spectacular red mandarin dress. When he first came with Mai-Ling, nobody could even believe that Wufei Chang had a girlfriend, nevertheless a fiancee. But Mai-Ling proved to be much different from other women, once you got to know her. Get on her bad side and you wouldn't be able to walk straight for a month. 

Duo and Hilde arrived with Zechs and Noin, who managed to delay their missions just for this day. Sally came with Catherine, both talking to a woman that the others didn't know. Some more people arrived as well: acquaintances, friends, relative, etc. The only person who was absent was Heero, but he never came so nobody was surprised.

While everyone was busy chatting, Andy and Kitsune stood in a secluded area. At first, only Andy was supposed to go, but Kitsune insisted on coming and bugged her brother to his wits until he finally agreed. Now Andy was glad that his little sister came because there wasn't anybody he recognized.

"Ne, oniichan," Kitsune asked as they were observing the crowd. Andy turned his head slightly. "Who are we looking for anyway? And why didn't Hee-chan come with us?"

"Heero had something to do," he answered. "And we're looking for his girlfriend or whatever to keep an eye on her."

Kitsune's eyes widened, a smile creeping to her face. "Hee-chan has a girlfriend??"

"Beats me, but think what you think," Andy simply replied.

Kitsune giggled to herself despite the fact that they were supposed to look for a woman that their guardian hadn't seen in seven years. They were to keep Heero posted; either kept an eye on her in the "usual" way or stalking her day and night, Heero would've cared less what his two family relatives did. Kitsune just thought it funny for her uncle to be so shy around women especially when he was once an assassin. No matter to her; she thought it was fun.

"Ne, oniichan," Kitsune spoke up again. Once more, he turned his attention to his sister. "Why are we looking for Hee-chan's girlfriend?"

"He wants to know if she's okay, I guess," Andy answered.

"Oooh," she realized, putting a finger to her bottom lip. "Sou ka na..."

"Hey!" Gally's voice called out to them as she walked towards them. She was relieved that she knew someone other than Relena. "You're Andy, right? Remember me?"

"You're the new girl who just transferred," Andy answered, a bit surprised. "Gally, right?"

Gally nodded happily. Kitsune looked at her brother, then at Gally, then back at her brother again. Andy patted his sister on the head.

"This is my imouto, Kitsune. Kitsune, this is Gally Trepe, one of my classmates," Andy introduced.

Gally waved hello to the girl and Kitsune waved back.

"It's nice to meet ya, Gally-san!" she greeted happily.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Kitsune-chan," Gally replied back, smiling. "A fox? That's a strange name. Is it your real name?"

Andy slid into the Mask to show an expressionless face, but deep inside, his mind was spinning. _How does she know that?_

Kitsune nodded cheerfully. "Uh-uh. It's Setsuko. Demo, everybody calls me Kitsune because I'm fast."

"Setsuko? That's a pretty name," Gally commented. "So, what brings you two here? I didn't know that people my age besides me go to reunions where you barely know anybody."

Kitsune was about to answer the question when her brother cut in, his grip on her fragile shoulder tightening. 

"Ah, our uncle couldn't make it because he had some business to take care of, so he asked us to go for him to meet his friends," Andy answered. _Don't you DARE tell her what we're really doing here, Kitsune, _mind waves travelled through the small connections in their brains. _Gally here lives with the woman that Heero's watching._

_O-okay..._ came her response.

to a very large group of reunified G-boys...er...MEN =) 

"Trowa!" Quatre exclaimed. "How have you been?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Trowa replied. "Sorry for not making it to the other ones."

"Oh, daijoubu!" Mai-Ling said cheerfully, hugging Wufei's arm tighter. "Catherine's been able to fill us in."

"Yeah, she's been able to fill me in, too," Trowa replied. "So, when's the day, you two?"

"U-uhh..." Wufei stammered. "Sometime this summer. Right, Mai?"

Wufei was a changed man after he met Mai-Ling. Instead of being the hypocritical sexist pig that everone was used to, one day when Wufei came in with Mai-Ling for the first time, they could already tell that somehow, miraculously it seemed, Mai-Ling was able to break the dragon's harsh attitude and code of "justice" and tame him to act like a normal human being, so to speak. 

Mai-Ling nodded. "Uh-huh. I thought we sent you an invitation, Trowa-san."

"You mean the one for your engagement party?" They nodded. "Hai, I got that."

After seven years of not meeting the man who used to have no name, everyone could tell that Trowa had also changed.

_I wonder if Heero changed, too, if he's still alive, that is, _Duo thought.

"I think we ALL got that one," Hilde said, giving Duo the Look that made him gulp instinctively.

"Your sister's been doing a lot to prepare for your wedding, Mai," Relena commented.

Mai-Ling sighed. "Yeah, she's been making such a bit deal out of it, though. She's acting like it's HER wedding!"

As the chatting continued, Duo began to zone out and then had that feeling that something or somebody was staring at him. He looked down to find a little girl hugging a stuffed gray kitty and staring silently at him. She had large dark brown and light brown hair that was tied up in cute pigtails. Her eyes were so dark a brown that it was almost black. Her features were small in every way so that made her eyes look a lot bigger than what they were. There was something in the girl that reminded Duo of someone, but he just couldn't place it at the moment.

Duo knelt down to the girl's height. "Oi, what're you doing here, ne? Is your okaasan around?"

The girl remained silent and looked down at her shoes as Duo patiently waited for a response. Hilde noticed and knelt down slightly next to him.

"Duo, what did you say to this little girl?" Hilde demanded.

"I-I didn't do anything!" he pleaded. "I just asked her where's her mom and she won't answer!"

"Kimiko!" Trowa's voice exclaimed. 

The little girl named Kimiko looked up as attention focused on her and Trowa and all chatting ceased. He kneeled down and spread his arms wide.

"Why didn't you say anything to anybody?" Trowa asked softly to Kimiko. "Daijoubu, they're just friend's of otouchan's."

Kimiko ran to him, and he lifted her up as she snuggled into his shoulder, hugging the stuffed kitty tightly. 

"O-otouchan?!?!?" Duo excalimed.

"Sumanu," Trowa apologized. "I forgot to tell you. This is my daughter, Kimiko."

"Eh?!?!?"

After mild shock, Noin was the first to recover and smiled. "Oh, she's so kawaii!" She tilted her head to see Kimiko's face. Their eyes met. "Ne, Kimiko-chan, isnt' it?"

Kimiko dug her face even further in her father's shoulder to break the eye contact from Noin.

Trowa chuckled lightly. "Daijoubu, Kimiko, she won't bite." Then to Noin, "Gomen, Noin-san. Kimiko's a bit shy around strangers."

"Daijoubu, I understand."

"Maa, she's just like her father," Quatre commented.

Duo couldn't help himself. "When did you get married?!?!? And who's your---"

"Trowa!" a feminine voice called out.

A young woman slightly younger than Trowa smiled. Her pale face showed perfection as it stood out from her raven hair. Her eyes were the same as Kimiko's, dark brown, and she also had a small yet protruding stomach. Catherine and Sally were right behind her.

"So she found you instead," the woman laughed. "I lost track of her once I laid my eyes off her."

The others couldn't believe it. No, it couldn't be...and...and she's got another coming...

"Mitsuko," Trowa said as the woman slowly made her way to him. He put one arm around her waist while carrying Kimiko with the other. "How are you feeling?"

"Daijoubu, daijoubu," Mitsuko reassured. "I'm not that tired."

"Minna-san, this is my wife, Mitsuko," Trowa introduced the woman.

"NANI?!?!?!?"

Mitsuko bowed slightly, but it was impossible for her to do the traditional Japanese bow when her stomach was protruding outward. "Konnichiwa. Trowa's told me all about you guys."

"Y-you're Trowa's wife?!?!?" Duo stammered.

She laughed and nodded. "Hai. It's nice to meet you."

"Catherine, how come you never told us?!?" Noin asked.

"A-anno, you see..." Catherine tried to say.

"Masaka, you knew too, Sally?" Wufei asked.

"Of course I did!" Sally said matter-of-factly.

Much conversation ensued. Relena had to laugh as the couple announced that they were going to have another child and her friends, particularly Duo, nearly fell out of their shoes. These people were her friends. They've always been able to support her no matter what she did. _Now if only Heero were here..._

Her eyes began searching for Gally who mysteriously left the crowd. She finally found her and saw her talking to two people. One she recognized as the student that Gally was talking about the day before, Andy. The young girl next to him she didn't know, but there was something odd about her eyes. Then she realized it. They were the same as Heero's no mistake about it. The eyes that she had always longed to look into came back to her but in a totally different way. Those eyes that she longed to see again and share all the years that have passed between them. Those Prussian blue eyes...

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Wahahahaha, I FINALLY got cracking on this fic!! ^_^ I thank you Moonkitty for encouraging me to write more!! Will Heero and Relena ever meet again? What do Kitsune and Andy have any relation to Heero besides being under his protection? What are Kitsune and Andy hiding from the rest of the world? And when's the day when the OOC Wufei and Mai-Ling take their vows? Stay tuned for the next chapter of....The True Victor

Ayame-chan

rinoakt8@squaresoftrules.com

http://animegurl2285.tripod.com/


	5. Chapter Four

The True Victor: Chapter Four

Chapter Four

AUTHORESS'S NOTES: Wahahahaha, Ayame-chan is back! And with a new muse! Say konnichiwa, Trowa-kun!

TrowaPlushie: ....Konnichiwa.

Good boy. Now, minna, don't be surprised if you see Trowa-kun typing up my notes for me! He'll be recognized as ** TrowaPlushie ** Now, on with the show!

Relena left her dumbfounded friends and sauntered her way over to Gally. Apparently, the trio didn't notice her arrival until Relena put a hand on Gally's shoulder.

"Oh, hi, Relena!" Gally greeted her.

"I've been looking for you," Relena said. _Act calm. _"So, this is where you've been." She stopped, looking for an explaination.

"Um...you guys, this is my guardian, Relena Dorlain," Gally introduced. "Relena, this is Andrew Lowe and his little sister, Kitsune."

Kitsune waved happily while Andy greeted with a polite hello. Relena smiled back. _Act normally..._

"Who invited you guys? I mean, I've never seen you two before. Did you have to go in place of someone else?" she asked.

Kitsune nodded. "Uh-huh, our uncle H--"

Andy lightly tapped his sister's head so that she would stop talking. 

"Ah, like Kitsune said, our uncle Odin sent us," Andy replied. "He was invited by a close friend of his, but couldn't come due to a business trip. So, he asked us to come." He gave a Look to his siter.

"Oh...sou ka..." Relena said, a bit disappointed.

"Andy was just tellin' me how they got here," Gally explained. "And Kitsune's been telling me about her school."

Kitsune nodded.

"Why don't you three jo---" Relena was about to say when a beeping sound interrputed them.

Kitsune looked down at her watch, the source of the sound. She pressed a couple of buttons and then shut it off, pulling her brother's sleeve. Andy leaned over, and his sister began to whisper in his ear. Whatever was said was so low that Gally, the closest to the two, couldn't hear what was being said. 

"Anno," Andy scratched the back of his head, "suminasen, shikashi, our uncle needs us right now..."

"Is something wrong?" Relena asked curiously.

"No, um, Odin-niichan just needs us to get something for him!" Kitsune answered, pulling her brother's sleeve as if telling him to leave.

"Do you have to leave so soon?" Gally asked.

"Yeah, it's an emergency," Andy replied, following his sister's lead. Then he smiled back at Gally. "I'll see ya at school, Gally."

Gally nodded and waved. Kitsune waved back before the two disappeared behind the gate. Relena continued to stare at the spot where the two were last seen, lost in her thoughts. She snapped back into reality when she was being shaken.

"Relena, doushta no?" Gally asked, frowning slightly. 

"Uh...betsumi. It's nothing," Relena stammered. She smiled for reassurance. "I'm fine, really. Just thinking, that's all."

Gally looked unsure for a moment, but smiled back. "Well, okay, if you say so. Let's go back to the others, ne?"

Relena nodded, letting the girl lead her back to the large group that was still chatting, barely even noticing that Relena had disappeared for the moment.

Kitsune's eyes still bothered Relena somewhat. She could've sworn that they looked like Heero's, but she could be wrong. Gally said that their last name was Lowe, wasn't it? So, they couldn't be related to Heero unless he changed his name. That was definetely a possibility. She noticed how Andy gave his sister a look when Kitsune was about to explain out they were invited. _Lowe, huh? Why does that name sound familiar?_

back at home...

The men who were after his relatives were back on the hunt again. Heero wished that he'd rescue them sooner, before those chips were inserted. But there was no way to reverse time, so everything had to be the way it was now. Heero stared seriously at the computer sceen as he accessed confidential government docutments and references on their database. The sound of an engine and two voices broke his reverie, and Heero stood up, leaving the computer on, as he went outside.

"Gally-san's really nice!" he heard Kitsune say.

"Aa..." he heard Andy reply in his usual monotonous way.

"And so's Relena-san, demo, she looked a bit sad..."

"Hey, guys," Heero greeted, leaning against a support.

"Hee-chan!" Kitsune ran to him, arms wide open.

Heero swung her around and carried her with one arm as Andy took off his helmet.

"So, how did it go? How's everyone?" Heero asked.

"Everybody seemed pretty happy," Andy replied. "Some guy named Trowa has a wife and kid with another coming on the way."

"You're kidding me," Heero commented in awe.

"Hai! He has a pretty wife and a kawaii little girl!" Kitsune said. "And a man named Wufei is going to have a wedding."

"Wufei? He has a fiancee?" Heero murmured.

"And his fiancee's pretty, too!" Kitsune added, not even hearing Heero's comment.

"...What about Relena?" he hesitated.

"She's the guardian of a girl who goes to the same school as I do," Andy answered. "She's just fine from what we've seen so far. Still single which is why she's adopting orphaned children. Right now, the girl who is staying with her is acting like a younger sister."

Heero nodded as an image of the Relena he once knew appeared in his mind. Gods, how he missed her. But staying hidden from the world was the only way he could redeem himself. It was also the only way to keep Andy and Kitsune away from the men who were searching for them. To remain in public with a code name was better than using a real name. That was why Heero used his last name as theirs instead of their real one, Hanazaki.

"Relena-san's really pretty, Hee-chan!" Kitsune informed as they all walked inside. "She's got really long hair and sparkly blue eyes."

"Aa," Heero answered as they both sat on the couch. Andy took a seat in the armchair across from them.

Heero remembered those eyes. _So, she hasn't changed._

"Why'd you call us back?" Andy asked.

"I hacked into Canada's government database and found something that might be of interest to you guys," Heero answered. "It seems that out of the twenty of those like you that escaped, about fifteen were recaptured after a period of four years."

"So, you mean that they're still searching for us," Andy stated.

Heero nodded. "Only five of you left. Including you two."

Kitsune rested her head on Heero's shoulder and began playing with his daggerlike necklace. "Why do those meanies want us for?"

He chuckled lightly, rustling her hair. "That's a good way to put it, Kitsune. Once you're a bit older, we'll tell you why."

"But I'm twelve. Isn't that old enough?" Kitsune tried to point out.

"Twelve going on six," Andy countered. "Daijoubu, Kitsune. It's nothing for you to worry about."

"I transferred the two of you out of your schools," Heero continued. "And," he took out a piece of paper from his pocket, "there's this for you guys' to take."

Andy received the paper and began to read while Heero continued on explaining.

"The reason why is that in some cases of the recaptured, they were recaptured by one of their own."

"By one of their own?" Andy arched an eyebrow. "You mean---"

"The project's been completed," Heero finished. "I'm assuming that the Red Hawks have more than enough super solders trained to overthrow the United Earth's Nation."

_Which is why he's making us keep an eye on Relena-san, _Andy thought as he reread the paper. "But why let us join the Preventers? I thought you didn't want us to join."

"Now we have no choice. It's better to go under the Preventers' protection than not to. So if the Red Hawks ever find you, then the United Earth's Nation would know."

"Then, what about you, Hee-chan?" Kitsune asked worriedly.

Heero smiled. "Daijoubu, I'm doming with you guys. I'll disguise myself so I won't be noticed. Hopefully Wufei or Sally won't see."

the next day ~ St. Gabriel's Institute

"Nani?!?" Gally exclaimed. "Andy's been transferred to another school?!?" 

Maya nodded sadly. "Uh-huh. And he hasn't been here for a full month, yet."

"You said that he just transferred here a week ago," Gally pondered. "But why?"

"The mistress never explained," Maya answered. "...And he was kinda cute, too."

Gally sat down next to her friend, pouting the exact same way as she did. "Yeah, I know...." _That means Kitsune-chan's gone, too. She said that she'll follow her brother wherever he goes._

Preventer's HQ ~ Moon

Lady Une eyed the trio in front of her suspiciously. They looked so...young, yet looking back at their resumes, they were pretty well-experienced. A young man standing before her with ruffled midnight hair that had thick bangs which partially covered his grey, smoky eyes looked only around eighteen. A little girl stood behind him, holding the sleeve of the hunched man next to her. She looked around eight or so, and so innocent. She looked possibly older by just looking at her Prussian blue eyes that barely shown through her tossled midnight hair. The elderly man had kept his head down, wearing a kakhi hat over eye, and had a hunched back. He held a wooden cane for support from the girl who was holding his arm.

A strange family it looked to her, especially with such a young man before her. Then Lady Une had to remember that Wufei was only sixteen when he was asked to join.

"You seem to have a lot of experience for such a young person, Andrew," Une finally replied. "When did you start working like this?"

"Ten," Andy answered and gestured to the hunched man. "As soon as my grandfather fractured his hip. Both my sister and I started working for money."

"Maa, you're well-qualified. You sister, too," Lady Une said. "Our organization will provide your family with food and shelter here on the base. Anno..." Her eyes looked at the hunced old man.

"It's fine with my grandfather," Andy assured. "He doesn't go out much anyway. And my sister's an expert as an information specialist."

Kitsune smiled, waving politely.

Lady Une nodded, considering the facts. They were running out of members anyway....

"Maa, we're low on experienced members. To this day and on, you are now a Preventer."


	6. Chapter Five

The True Victor: Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Preventer work was easy. Although Andy had heard rumors that training was harsh and the work difficult, he whizzed by through it. Maybe it was because of his already enhanced training, or maybe it was because he was used to work like this. He didn't know about Kitsune, since she was in a different department, but whenever she came to visit her brother, she seemed just fine. Happy-go-lucky as usual.

There were only two people who worked in the departement that Andy worked in: him and Wufei. All of the other departments were too easy for Andy, and going into Kitsune's didn't fit his style. Kitsune was in the information department, and since being the youngest, she was helped out by Sally. Wufei had asked Andy to join him which was special affairs.

Although partners, the two rarely talked to one another. They only had a mutual understanding and respect. Right now, the Preventers had focused entirely on a small rebellion that was rising down on Earth.

"It's small for now," he tuned into the meeting as Lady Une continued with debriefing. "But we've had a couple of uprisings in this area for the past couple of years. Some of them we've had to use force to put them down. This rebellion's different from the others, though. Some of our spies haven't returned nor can we contact them."

"Probably because someone from that group has discovered them," Andy said.

Everyone turned to look at him, including his sister, but Andy was lost in thought again. Lady Une nodded in agreement. "That's a possibility."

After a half an hour, the meeting was dismissed. Andy and Kitsune were the last to leave.

"Andy, Kitsune, can I talk to youtwo for a moment?" Lady Une asked.

Andy closed the door behind him. Kitsune quickly took a seat. She sat backwards, resting her chin on the top of the chair.

"What is it, Une-san?" Kitsune asked.

"I've told Wufei and Sally this already," Lady Une began. "Prime Minister Dorlain is going to make a visit to the Alberta prefecture to discuss the building of launching a station there and also about the uprisings. I'm worried about her safety and possible assassination attempts..."

"So you would like us to act as bodyguards?" Andy asked.

_The young man's smart,_ Lady Une thought as she nodded. "I know that you two are still new, but you've been doing an outstanding job, especially for only starting out for a couple of weeks. Would you like to help them out?"

Andy and Kitsune shared a look. If they took the job, then Relena would recognize them, and if they didn't take it, the two would be hearing from their guardian for years on end if anything happened to her.

"It's fine with us, demo, can we bring another person along with us?" Andy replied.

"Do you mean your grandfather?" Lady Une asked.

"Anno....ie, anno....our uncle..." Kitsune stammered.

"Is he going to the Alberta prefecture, too?" 

The two slowly nodded.

_Do you think Hee-chan will wanna go? _Kitsune asked her brother.

_We'll just ask him and see. Besides, if we mention it's Relena-san, he'll probably want to go._ her brother answered.

Lady Une looked at the two strangely for a moment. It was as if they were hiding something from her. "Maa....if that's it, then it's fine."

Dorlain Mansion ~ Earth

"Huh? I never invited anyone by the name Odin Lowe," Quatre answered after Relena's curiousity got the better of her and called Quatre about the invitation list.

"Are you sure, Quatre?" Relena asked again, anxious inside. "That's what those two told me."

"I'm sure, Relena-san. I didn't invite anyone by the name of Odin Lowe," then he realized something. "Heero didn't come, did he?"

Relena blinked. _Why in the world would he... _"No, as always. Why do you ask?"

"Because someone checked off his name."

to someplace else

He sneezed. And sneezed again.

"Mou, Yuy-san!" a waitress complained.

"Aa, sumanu," Heero apologized, finished the last couple bits of his sandwich. He looked out of the window, staring absentmidedly into the blanket of artificial blue. _Somebody must be talking about me._

to Andy and Kitsune...on their way to colony L1

"Oniichan, how're we supposed to tell Hee-chan?" Keitusne asked her brother. "Better yet, what about Relena-san? Isn't she going to recognize us?"

"Do I look like a mind reader to you?" Andy asked his sister back as they walked through the streets of L1. "We'll just have to tell him straight out."

"You'll just have to tell me what?" Heero asked from behind.

"Hee-chan!"

Kitsune wrapped her arms around Heero's waist, since that was as high as she could reach. He hugged her back, patting her on the head.

"Oi, you two are back early," Heero said as they continued walking. "So? What did you want to tell me?"

"Um...how did you know? Besides eavesdropping," Andy replied.

Heero smiled slyly. "Being with you two for so long, it's easy to read you like a book."

"Huh, figures," Andy simply said. Then after a moment, "I guess we'll tell you once we're back home."

later...

"No means no," Heero said again after being explained the entire situation.

"Demo, Hee-chan...," Kitsune pleaded.

"If I went with you guys, they would find out," Heero explained.

"You know, what's so wrong about revealing yourself?" Andy asked. "You're only going to tell them that you're still alive."

"If I tell them where I am then the Red Hawks will know where you are," Heero pointed out.

Kitsune observed her two elder relatives quietly. She sat backwards in her chair, resting her chin on the top bar as her eyes tiredly looked back and forth during the minor arguement. Usually, it was Andy that didn't say much. It was only when he had good reason or when with her and Heero that Andy acted like a normal person. And it was Kitsune who talked the most.

"You two can go, but I'm staying here," she tuned back into Heero.

She frowned. Her Hee-chan ALWAYS stayed back.

"Demo, Hee-chan, Relena-san's coming to visit there," Kitsune finished what she was about to say earlier.

That was when Heero froze in mid thought. _Relena..._ They hadn't said anything about here earlier.

"She...is?" he hesitated.

_I knew it!_ Kitsune thought happily. She nodded. "Uh-huh. That's why Une-san asked us to accompany her. She said she wanted the best to go and protect Relena-san."

Andy sighed, grateful that his little sister was able to knock some sense into their guardian to help them.

To protect his angel again. To watch over her, this was the choice that Heero Yuy had wanted to do again. This was possibly the only choice he had...

AUTHORESS AND MUSE NOTES:

( Chichiri )

[ Tasuki ]

/ Taka-neko \

** TrowaPlushie **

~Ayame-chan and her muses see a rampaging Godzilla Relena~

Aaahhh!!! Godzilla Relena!! ::runs away:: ~They run into a knife-wielding HeeroPlushie~ Ahhh!!! HeeroPlushie!! ::runs away:: Tasuki, this is all your fault!

[Oi, what the hell did I do?!?]

**She needs somebody to blame. Besides, Tasuki, you came up with the ending.**

[B-b-but...]

/Mreow, mreow\

They're catching up! Chichiri, teleport us!

(Wakkata, no da!) ::teleports::

Whew...don't kill me please!! ::glares at two particular authoresses:: I promise I'll make it up! Relena and Heero _will_ be together for all you H&R fans! ::nods:: At least...I think so ^_^ R&R!


	7. Chapter Six

The True Victor: Chapter Six

Chapter Six

AC 203 ~ Alberta province

Kitsune slept peacefully on Heero's shoulder as they were driving through the peaceful countryside of Canada. Andy sat on the opposite side of where his other relatives sat, staring outside the window. Sally sat next to him, informing Heero about the mission that his relatives were on (though, not entirely) while Wufei drove.

Nobody had recognized Heero thanks to Kitsune's School of the Arts. He was posed as a middle-aged businessman. Kitsune had stayed up the entire night before perfecting Heero's face mask, which was why she was fast asleep. They even attached a voicebox on his neck in case anybody had recognized the sound of his voice though it had been seven years since anybody had last seen him.

Even though Andy and Kitsune wouldn't worry about Heero's identity being revealed, they were more worried about how to deal with Relena finding THEM out.

_We just gotta figure out something for her not to see us..._Andy thought as he looked out the window.

"Andy? Andy, are you listening to me?" Sally's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Huh? Uh...nande, Sally?" Andy asked.

Sally smiled, her question answered. "I was saying that you used to live here, right?"

"Hai...I guess you can say that," he answered.

"So how long has it been since the last time you've been here?"

"Uh..."

"About seven years."

That answer came from Heero when he saw the hesitation from his relative. Sally turned to him.

"Oh, really? Then that's been a while," Sally remarked. "So you've been also taking care of Andy and Kitsune ever since they were young, Mr. Lowe?"

"Aa," Heero answered. "Since I heard that my dad broke his hip, I've been helping them out a bit."

_Yeah, in military tactics,_ Andy thought as he looked out the window again.

2 hours later ~ Downtown Alberta

The car had abruptly stopped in front of a very elegant and wide building. It didn't look like the outdoor plaza in which the prime minister was going to make a speech...

"What is this place?" Andy asked.

Kitsune, who was now wide awake, stared at the building in awe. "Kirei..."

Sally and Wufei opened the doors and turned to look at the trio. 

"Oh, nobody told you guys, Andy?" Sally asked. "We're going to have lunce with Prime Minister Dorlain before she makes her speech."

Heero stiffened. Andy and Kitsune's jaws dropped to the floor.

"N-nani?!?" Andy exclaimed.

"N-nobody told us about lunch..." Kitsune added.

_Oh, great, NOW what, oniichan?_

_Why are you asking me for? Do I look like a mind reader to you? ...Just act normally._

"Oh, sou ka..." Sally said.

"You two left early before we were able to tell you," Wufei explained. "I tried calling you at home, but I guess you guys were out."

Andy gave a Look at his sister who in turn blushed lightly. Kitsune usually was the one who answered the phone at home. But last night, she was so absorbed at the makeup of Heero's disguise that she didn't pay any attention to the phone. Heero had NEVER answered it, so of course he didn't pick it up yesterday. Andy was out working on his part-time job with the local florist, so the only person of course would be Kitsune to answer.

_Oops..._Kitsune thought.

_Ha ha ha, NOW we're in trouble_, Andy remarked.

They got out of the car and went inside, dreading what was going to happen next.

somewhere in one of those dark and eerie places

"General Reindhart!"

"What is it, soldier?" the man named Reindhart answered, looking over the plaza below him.

General Zenith Reindhart was a man of his late fifties. His face was ridden with scars and half of it was covered by a steel plate with a ruby eye encased inside. His clothing matched the darkness that was their headquarters as his white-blond hair seemed to glow in the dark.

The soldier behind him saluted stiffly and announced her message. "Sir, all preparations have been completed. What are your next orders, General?"

Reindhart turned around, smiling maliciously. "Is that so? Well, then, send for Garnett and tell him to get ready."

The female soldier saluted again and made her exit in seconds. Reindhart watched her go and then resumed his overlook of the plaza on the TV screen.

"Soon, our revolution and remaking will begin," he said.

Alberta Province ~ Dolitaw Restaurant

Gally looked up at the sky, sighing heavily. She was bored and tired of waiting. Taking yet another day off of school, Gally had followed Relena to Alberta and was now waiting for the Preventers to arrive. She rested her head on the table, wishing that Maya was there to talk to.

The two had become the best of friends over the past month and a half since Gally had attended St. Gabriel's Institute. Really, Maya was the only one who ever talked to Gally. The other students at the school were cold rather than friendly. It was because of her status as a person, she guessed. She wasn't a person of high rank; she was your typical tomboy. She never knew etiquette (hell, she didn't even know what the word was at the time), she skipped school often yet somehow did miracles on her homework and exams, she was a streetfighter, she never knew her parents because they were killed at the destruction of the Lunar Base nine years ago, she didn't really have a home until Relena found her, and she was a person who never followed the rules.

"Hey, you guys!" Gally snapped out of her reverie at the sound of Relena's voice. "What took you so long?"

"FINALLY, they're here," Gally muttered and lifted her head.

Sally was apologizing to Relena as the other members entered the restaurant. Gally recognized Wufei and Sally from the reunion that she went to. Then a middle aged man walked in. She was guessing that he was an experienced member by just looking at him. But those eyes...they looked younger than he looked.

Gally continued to observe at a distance as two others walked in, their heads low. One was tall, lean, but well built, looking around her age. The other was very small and fragile standing next to the man and had a long, midnight braid. She couldn't see their faces because they were looking down and their bangs covered their eyes. Gally cocked her head to the side. For some odd reason, those two looked mighty familiar...

Andy noticed Gally from the corner of his eye and also the look that she gave them as well. 

"That's just greeeeat," he muttered under his breath.

"It's nice to meet you, Mister Lowe," Relena greeted after Sally introduced him, shaking his hand.

Heero stiffened slightly as he took her hand in his, but she didn't seem to notice much. He smiled.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Relena-san," he said, so grateful that Kitsune had attached the voicebox. "You're working very hard, I hear."

"Hai, it's very though, demo, hopefully it won't be for long," Relena answered. "At least for this speech."

"Re-le-na!!!" Gally whined. "Can we eat yet? I'm starving!!"

Relena laughed. "Hai, hai. Sure!"

They all went to sit down at the table to have lunch. Or, at least, ALMOST everybody sat down at the same table.

"Are? Andy, Kitsune, Lowe-san," Sally addressed the trio who sat in the far corner. "Why're you sitting way over there?"

_Andy? Kitsune? _Relena thought. _Masaka..._

The trio's backs were turned to tthem. Andy waved his hand while the other two stared into space; at least that's what those afar saw.

"Don't worry about us. The table's too crowed, so we're going to sit here," Andy tried to explain.

"Don't be silly!" Sally argued. "We have plenty of room for you three."

"What do we do now?" Heero whispered.

"Ah! I lost my ring!!!" Kitsune shouted suddenly and ducked down under the table to find it.

Andy and Heero knew what the young girl was thinking and followed suit, shouting questions to one another as to locate Kitsune's "ring". Relena, Gally, Sally, Wufei, and others watched on in confusion, a sweatdrop on each of their faces.

"Strange," Gally muttered.

"Maa, they're usually not like this," Sally said, a bit confused. "I didn't even know that Kitsune had a ring on her..."

"Ie, daijoubu, it's just that---" Relena tried to say, but was disrupted when their table started shaking.

Kitsune had popped up, but she had completely distorted her face. She was looking up so that all anyone could see were the whites of her eyes. Her bottom lip covered her upper lip at a diagonal angle. Gally had to stifle her laughter at the sight of her.

"Ne, did you guys find it, yet?" Kitsune asked as normally as she couuld, which was quite difficult when one's tongue wasn't in use.

Heero had come out from under the table, brushing out the dust in his hair.

"Ie," he answered, taking an empty seat. "What color was it, again?"

"Blah." It was supposed to be "blue", but Kitsune couldn't talk correctly with her tongue twisted.

"The one with the blue dragons around it or the one with the sapphire gem inside?" Andy's voice asked.

_That voice..._Gally thought.

While it was rather easy for Kitsune to think of a perfect, yet rather childish way of masking herself, it was a tad bit harder for Andy to create a mask out of thin air. He had been too serious for a long time for him to be so open as his little sister was.

"Anno...the blue dragons," Kitsune answered. She "skillfully" stabbed a fork into a thin slice of meat and lifted it up. "Ne, oniichan, forget about the ring. Aren't you hungry?" 

_Sis, what the hell are you thinking? _Andy thought angrily as he slowly got up from the table.

Heero had to resist from bursting out into laughter as he watched his siblings try to hide themselves in the funniest ways possible. They were trained to be perfect soldiers, but not doing stunts at the spur of the moment. He knew that their stunt wasn't going to work for long as he noticed the meat was beginning to slip off the fork. 

Andy had barely got up when the meat totally fell off, revealing his nervous expression.

"Andy?!?" Gally exclaimed.

Andy forced a smile at her while glaring at his guardian who was futilely resisting to laugh.

"Aa....konnichiwa," he greeted.

Kitsune had reverted her face back to normal, laughing nervously. "Ahahaha....oops."

_That was just a BRILLIANT idea, my dear little sister,_ Andy said to his sister.

_I didn't know that it was going to slip!_ Kitsune tried to plead her case.

_Yeah, whatever._

"Andrew, Kitsune, what are you doing here?" Relena asked.

"Andy, Kitsune, you know Relena-san?" Sally asked.

"Anno...." Andy had no clue how to explain.

Luckily, Kitsune covered up for him. "Hai! Gally introduced us to Relena-san before, Sally-san. And me an' oniichan joined the Preventers, Relena-san. Jiya's sick and we wanted to help him out."

Heero smiled inwardly at the girl's quick reaction.

"Jiya?" Relena slowly repeated the name.

_I didn't know that they had a grandfather, _Gally thought.

"Hai, their grandfather isn't feeling too well," Sally added. "And they've been working part-time before they joined us. Daijoubu, they may look young, demo, they are pretty experienced in the fields that we need."

As Sally continued to explain, Wufei started to doubt the two youngsters. He had the feeling before and shrugged it off, but it came back again. 

_What are those two hiding? _he asked himself.

Alberta Province ~ Liliham Plaza

With everything straightened out, Andy and Kitsune had resorted to their original positions. Relena's speech was pretty not of interest to them, so they resorted to observing the crowd. Heero had warned them that there my be an attempt of attack as well as other Preventer memebers. Not only did the Preventers had ensure Prime Minister Dorlain's safety, they also had to stop whoever was instigating the rebellions in the area. The only thing in the Preventers' minds was now...

somewhere closeby

The sound of a gun locking into place echoed in the small room. A young man finished loading his sniper rifle and gazed through the small window in front of him. In a distance, he overlooked the plaza, a bird's eye view. He had a clear view of Prime Minister Dorlain and carefully set his gun into place and aimed...

Liliham Plaza

Something had caught his eye. With superhuman sight, Andy turned his head away from the crowd and to the direction where something reflected in the sunlight. His eyes widened at the sight of a gun aimed and ready to shoot. Although he couldn't exactly see who the assassin was, Andy heard the slight squeeze of the trigger. He had to react and fast.

"And now, in order to---" Relena was cut off as Andy pushed her out of the way just in time.

The bullet missed its mark and paved through a glass window instead. The crowd began to panic and flee.

to that closeby place again

"Che," the young man cursed to himself. He would've gotten her if it wasn't for that Preventer.

A beep rang through his earpiece.

"Yeah?" the young man asked gruffly.

"Garnett, why the hell did you just miss?!?" Reindhart yelled through.

"I had her, Sir," Garnett answered as his green eyes darted back to the plaza. "It's that annoying Preventer that pushed her outta the way."

"Well, get on to Code B. We can't have the Preventers get on our case now," Reindhart ordered.

"Yes, sir."

Liliham Plaza

"The hell?" Wufei shouted.

A mass of dark masked figures were coming towards them on both exits, allowing no escape.

"It's them!" Sally exclaimed.

All Preventers began to ready themselves for battle as the soldiers got closer.

"We can't stay together or else fall right into their trap," Heero pointed out. "We have to split up."

"But---" Relena managed to say.

"Relena-san, Lowe-san's right. We can't stay here," Sally added.

"Kitsune, take Relena and go," Heero said to the girl. "Protect her with your life."

Kitsune's blue eyes widened. "Demo, Hee-chan---"

_'Hee-chan'? _Relena repeated the name in her mind.

"Kitsune, just go!" Heero ordered.

She nodded and grabbed Relena's arm. "Relena-san, let's go."

Relena reluctantly nodded and followed Kitsune's lead.

"Now what?" Wufei asked.

"We have to stop them somehow...will Kitsune be alright?" Sally asked Andy.

"Kitsune's capable of the job," he answered. "Don't worry about them; they'll be fine."

"Andy, take Gally out of here," Heero ordered.

"Oi! I can help! I fought a lot of times before!" Gally protested as she cracked her knuckles.

"You need me here especially when half of the soldiers here are like me," Andy pointed out to Heero. Then to Gally, "Gally, get out of here as fast as you can."

She was about to protest again but saw the look in Andy's eyes and quickly left. As battle ensued, she slid across the slick surface as Garnett stood in her way of escape. She jumped back reflexively, settling in a kickboxing stance.

Garnett was a man around Andy's age. He had piercing green eyes and dirty-blond hair, standing around Andy's height. His slight build proved that he wasn't a citizen. Instead of the sniper rifle, a shotgun was slung at his side, wearing a dark gray uniform. He looked at Gally dangerously.

_I don't like that look of his...._Gally thought as she waited patiently on what her opponent was going to do. 

Garnett raised his weapon in response to the girl's reaction. _Easy target..._

_Shimata, I can't dodge nor find a way around the guy. Damn narrow exits, _Gally cursed to herself. It was too hard to run away from him for there were people prying for the exits around her. It was like a can full of sardines packed in. She didn't want to hurt any of the citizens while making her way around, and she knew that if she moved, Garnett would just move in her direction and shoot.

Lost in her game strategy, Gally didn't notice that Garnett had already fired out. Life flashed before her eyes....

She thought she was going to feel pain, death, but found herself in Andy's strong arms as the bullet nicked his shoulder. 

"A-Andy?" she managed to say.

Andy had remained silent, staring coldly at his new opponent in front of him. She turned her head.

"Dammit, that's the second time, Preventer," Garnett said, returning the stare.

"Roy..." Andy snarled.

AUTHORESS RAMBLINGS: I'm BAAAAAACK!!!! FINALLY!!! God, how much did I tell you how much I hate high school? I don't have as much time as I used to!!!! Gar....

Thank you all for your reviews! ^_^. I didn't know that this was starting to become a very popular fic....Anyhoo, hope this will satisfy your thirst for a new chapter. Hopefully, I'll write up the next chapter, type it up, and post it back on here soon! Writing seven stories at once is NOT a good idea, people. Plus school, being the cook of the house for my family, being a secretary for a club at my school (Hey, we've got an Anime Club at our school!!! FINALLY!!!!! ^_^ Me secretary. My twin's V.P.) Anyhoo, R&R!!!

Oh, and for all the Japanese that I use in here, go look them up for yourself if you don't know what the word means. I don't have the time to do it, so booyaka to you all.


	8. Chapter Seven

The True Victor: Chapter Seven 

AUTHORESS NOTES: You're going to like this chapter, let me guarantee you on that ^_^. I just hope nobody kills me for the ending of this chapter.... 

Chapter Seven

Roy arched an eyebrow with a look of "who-are-you" on his face, gun still poised at them.

"How do you know who I am, Preventer?" Roy addressed Andy.

"No need to tell you since you've been brainwashed by them," Andy growled, standing.

Gally looked up at him in confusion. "A-Andy?"

Without even looking at her, he said, "Gally, get out of here now."

"There's no escape," Roy told them. "Even if you somehow miraculously get out of this place alive, my men stationed throughout the city will get you."

Andy couldn't help but make a grim smile, cracking his knuckles. "Well, we'll see about that."

side building

Relena couldn't believe how GOOD Kitsune was. The young girl was fast, incredibly fast. Being held by the wrist, Relena thought that she was flying, even if slightly. Whenever the two were caught up by those just as fast as Kitsune was, she quickly disposed of them in the blink of an eye. At first, taking out the supersoldiers were easy for the twelve year old, but it was starting to get more difficult each time they were stopped. Alone, Kitsune would've teken them head on, but with Relena to protect, Kitsune didn't have the freedom. So the only thing left was to run.

Turning yet another corner in the maze that they entered, it became a dead end.

"Kuso!" Kitsune cursed to herself as they stopped. For the first time, she let Relena go to check out the corner wall. "This just HAD to happen." 

Relena also couldn't believe how Kitsune had drastically changed in personality: from spunky to dead serious. Her eyes followed the young girl with every step. 

"What now?" she asked.

"...Hee-chan's gonna kill me if I let something happen," she heard Kitsune mutter as she peeked out of the corner, taking out her gun.

_Did she say 'Hee-chan' again or am I hearing things? _Relena thought.

"Kitsune...who's this 'Hee-chan'?"

Kitsune realized her mistake. _Shimata...I can never keep my mouth shut, can I?_ "Anno...a person?"

"Yes, I know a person, but---"

Kitsune quickly reeled back from the corner as bullets spewed through the maze's hall. "Eek...that's not good."

Relena stood next to her, whispering, "Now what?"

"Just give up, Preventer, you've been cornered!" a voice shouted. "If you hand over Prime Minister Dorlain, then you'll be able to see another day!"

This threat Kitsune didn't like. "And booyaka to you, too!" (AN: ^_^ This will be explained later!!)

Relena resisted the urge to burst into hysterical laughter. _Booyaka?_

"Hand her over now on the count of three!" the voice continued. "One..."

Kitsune released the safety of her gun and loaded it. "Relena-san, when I come out and face them, I want you to run as fast as you can to the doorway over there."

"Two..."

"What doorway?" Relena asked. All she saw were nothing but stone walls.

"See that nifty statue thingy over there across from us?" Kitsune asked, pointing with her eyes.

"Uh...hai."

"Pull the right arm down and it'll open a passage. You'll be outside of the plaza where the others should be at."

"Demo, what about you???"

"Three!!"

"Don't worry about me!" Kitsune answered and slid out into the hall, gun aimed. "Now!"

As she was told, Relena darted from where they turned to a gargoyle statue (AN: The nifty statue thingy). Gunshots were fired in all directions. Kitsune still remained where she was, firing as the other bullets whizzed by passed her. Pullingdown on the arm, Relena entered into the hidden passageway looking back. Kitsune was still in place, still shooting, as the door closed on Relena's eyes...

Liliham Plaza

Gally looked on the battle in awe. Roy and Andy were fast. Too fast. She couldn't even see them, only where they were once in a while by a pickup of dust or the scattering of pebbles.

_How can they be so fast? _Gally wondered.

She also heard conversation between the two as they fought. Apparantly, Andy was trying to convince Roy about something.

"Just what the hell are you talking about?" Roy shouted.

"Like you give a damn about what I say because you don't even remember!" was Andy's response.

"Shut up!"

Roy tossed out a bomb in which Andy easily avoided and returned an uppercut to the lower jaw. The only thing he didn't realize that the bomb skidded past an awestruck Gally and closeby the building far behind her. As the two continued to duke it out, it exploded, making Andy snap back into reality.

"Gally, abunai!"

She looked up above her to find large pieces of concrete and glass about to crush her. Too frozen in fear, she couldn't react in time. Forgetting about his opponent, Andy dashed through, getting Gally out of the way in the nick of time. As they rolled to a stop, more pieces of the building covered them. Then there was silence.

Rubbing his jaw, Roy spit out a loose tooth. With his superhuman eyesight, he checked to see if they were still alive. Finding no signs of life, he smirked to himself, picked up his shotgun, and left.

to Andy and Gally

She dared to open her eyes to gasp in shock. Andy was right on top of her, struggling to hold up the massive weight of building pieces on top of his back. 

"Andy!"

He opened an eye. "Daijoubu?"

"Yeah...but you can't hold up all of that weight!" Gally pointed out. 

Beads of sweat were all over his face as he maintained his position.

"Get...my gun," he said, ignoring her concern about him.

"Huh? Doushite?"

His eyes glanced to the side. The two were right next to the glass building that fell on top of them. The window next to them was partially broken.

"Shoot into the glass. The safety's off, so don't worry about unlocking it."

Gally was about to ask another question, but did as she was told, fumbling with the gun before firing at the broken glass. She winced at every gunshot that rang, unused to the noise. In about two shots, the glass crumbled into a million pieces. Knowing why Andy was holding up the rubble, Gally let herself out first. She hissed in the pain on her side that was finally registering to her brain as she slowly scooted out.

"Andy, are you going to stay there like that?" she asked him with concern.

After a few seconds, Andy rolled out in two quick movements. The rubble above him followed the laws of gravity in a loud sweep. Pain was registering everywhere in his body as he focused to ignore it. 

"Andy??" Gally knelt down next to him, careful to not move him less create the situation worse than it was now.

"Help me up."

"Demo..."

He managed to prop himself up on an elbow, grey eyes looking deeply into her own violet. Gally reluctantly helped him up, slinging his arm around her shoulder. _How can he just..._

She never finished the thought because Andy had collapsed in her arms.

St. Joseph's Hospital

She was out of breath as she ran into the waiting room. Her ocean eyes were filled with relief at the sight of a familiar form.

"Gally! You're okay!" Relena exclaimed.

Gally lifted her head at the call of her name, slowly shifting out of her curled position in the chair. "Relena?"

Relena went towards her. "Daijoubu?"

The poor girl was a mess. Her hair was disheveled, her face was covered in splotches of dir, and her clothes were in disarray. Somehow, though, she managed to smile. "Hai, daijoubu. The doctor said I cracked two ribs, so I can't move as much." 

Relena smiled back, glad that it wasn't any worse than that. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah, demo...Andy's..."

"What happened to Andy, Gally?" Lady Une asked.

The other Preventer members: Sally, Noin, Zechs, and Wufei along with the old-time friends: Duo, Hilde, Mai-ling, Quatre, Trowa, and Catherine, waited for an answer.

Gally blinked away tears as she looked away from them.

"He's in critical condition," she said quietly. "I-I'm not sure how bad because the nurses wouldn't let anyone else except for family members into his room. Kitsune and Lowe-san are with him right now."

Just then a woman entered in the waiting room. She looked around her mid to late twenties with velvet brown hair and eyes that looked exactly like Kitsune's. Taking one glance at the gang, she headed towards the receptionists' counter.

"May I help you, Miss?" the nurse at the counter asked.

"Hai...I got a phone call from here saying that my brother's in intensive care?" the woman asked. "His name's Andrew Lowe."

Ears pricked up at the name.

The nurse looked through the papers. "Oh, are you his older sister?"

"Aa."

"Just got right down the hall and turn to your left," the nurse directed. "Room 182, you can't miss it."

The woman smiled. "Arigatou."

"Who's that?" Zechs asked.

"I don't remember Andy telling me that he had another sister besides Kitsune..." Gally murmured.

Room 182

Heero stared blankly at Andy's still form, observing the monitors. He hadn't bothered to take off the mask or voicebox just yet. Kitsune slept next to him, exhausted from the hectic day before. Her right arm was in a sling from a gunshot wound, but there were no other signs of injury besides that from her.

Heero jerked his head at the sound of the door opening but relaxed when he discovered who it was. "Kaede."

The woman named Kaede (the same woman who had come in at the receptionist counter) looked around curiously.

"Um, am I in the right room? This is Room one-eight-two, right?" she asked.

"That isn't funny, oneesan," Heero said. "You know it's me."

Kaede grinned, closing the door behind her. "Well, why don't you take off that mask and voicebox of yours? Nobody's going to know you're here."

Heero slipped his arm away from Kitsune to do so as Kaede took a seat next to him. 

"So, how is he?" she said softly in order to not wake Kitsune up.

"Doctor says it's a miracle that he's still alive," Heero simply put it.

"You were a similar position and it's amazing that you're alive, my little brother," Kaede pointed out.

As the two quietly conversed with one another, Heero totally forgot about the face that their room had a door window...

a few hours later

They were finally able to see if Andy was alright, but only Zechs, Noin, and Gally had remained. The others had to get back to work, to get cracking on their new case. Gally didn't feel like visiting at the moment, remembering the bad times that Relena didn't know, so Relena left her with her brother and sister-in-law to check up and tell Gally how Andy was doing.

Her own mind was distraught, too. She knew that people were trying to get her, but she was THIS close this time in getting killed. That frightened her. Relena absentmindedly opened the door to Room 182, and her heart just stopped right then. Time had also stopped as the man that she yearned to see after seven years' wait turned his head to face her with wide, Prussian blue eyes. Eyes that could never change.

"Heero..."

* * *

AUTHORESS NOTES: Gwuahahahahahahahaha....I just love making cliffhangers ^_^. R&R!!

Oh, and if you're a Final Fantasy VIII fan like me, then you know what the term "booyaka" comes from. But for those who don't, it's a saying of total nonsense. Really, booyaka can be used on different levels of phrases. Say it out loud first and then use it in a sentence such as: "Booyaka! I'm done!" or "Booyaka to you all!" then you'll see why this word has so many meanings. I'm trying to fufill the wish of Selphie Tilmitt in spreading it around West High and the world^_^.

Booyaka.


	9. Chapter Eight

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Long time no see, you guys! After FINALLY finishing "Angels", I can now freely work on this and my other fics before I create the Angels sequel.

Chapter Eight

"Heero..." 

That was all she could say, standing frozen in between the doorway as she looked at him in utter bewilderment.

Heero shared a look with his sister before standing up from his seat.

"Relena..."

"Y-you're...YOU'RE Andy and Kitsune's guardian, aren't you?" Relena finally realized as her eyes filled with tears. "H-how come..."

"Maybe you should explain this to everyone, Heero," Kaede interrupted, smiling at them.

Heero glared at his sister for a moment. "Take---"

"Care of them," Kaede finished, her smile getting wider. "They'll be just fine with me. You should already know that, brother."

Heero just noded at her and escorted himself and Relena out of the room. Kaede sighed at her brother's curtness for she could tell that the two who had left had a relationship before. She pulled out some spare covers that the hospital had given her and put it over Kitsune's sleeping form.

in waiting room

Zechs paced around the room while Noin sat down with a semi-distraught Gally. It had been at least twenty minutes since Relena had left to check up on Andy's condition and those minutes were spent in silence. Gally didn't feel like talking, but she still felt awkward about not talking to her "sister's" brother and sister-in-law. Sitting in her curled position in the chair, she began to think of something to say as she watched the movement of Zechs' shoes going back and forth.

_Come to think of it, I really don't know any of Relena's friends that well, nevermind her relatives. _Gally thought. Then she remembered something.

"Um...Noin-san?"

Noin lifted her head from the magazine she was reading. "Hm??"

"...When are you due?"

The question surprised Noin for a second, but she remembered that Relena had told the young girl. She smiled, patting her swollen stomach lightly.

"About five months from now. May 15, hopefully."

Gally returned the smile, some of the tension in her shoulders relaxing. More questions began sprounting in her head. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl, yet?"

Noin chuckled, shaking her head. "No, we want to keep him or her a surprise." She took a glance at her husband who was too lost in thought to comment. "Sally said that I might have twins, though."

Zechs froze in midstep. He hadn't heard anything about...THAT. Ignoring Zechs' reaction, Gally laughed a bit more cheerfully. "That's going to be a lot of fun and a lot of hard work at the same time, huh? Back at the orphanage, I babysat a lot. Some were just tiny babies, put into a dumpster because they weren't wanted."

Noin nodded in understanding. "It's a sad world, isn't it?"

"Honey, when...what..." Zechs sputtered.

Before Noin could explain, Relena appeared, but she wasn't alone. Behind her was a man that Gally couldn't recognize but one that Noin and Zechs knew very well.

"Heero!" Noin exclaimed, standing.

Gally slowly straightened herself to a regular sitting position as she curiously looked at Heero. He looked a bit tired from lack of sleep, but nonetheless alert. She could see a slight resemblance in him representing Andy and another with Kitsune. _Is this Andy and Kitsune's brother? _

Heero just ignored everybody and glanced around the room for any of the Red Hawks' members in the area. There were.

"I'll do the explaining once we are outside," he said nonchalantly.

Relena just looked at him, but he didn't answer as she had expected. He didn't even look at her either; he just headed towards the elevator.

"Matte, Yuy, why can't you explain here?" Zechs asked.

Heero returned the stare that Zechs had given him although it had a bigger impact. "I'll explain as soon as we leave the hospital," Heero replied more demandingly.

Gally took this time to stand up. "Is Andy okay?"

Heero's eyes gradually softened as he fixed his eyes on Gally in order to not to scare her. He knew what Andy's feelings were about the girl although he wouldn't show it. "Don't worry, he's fine. Give hime about two weeks and he'll be back to normal."

Gally's eyes widened at the information. "Two weeks? The doctor said that it would take him three months to recover."

Heero smiled, one that never touched the corner of his lips. "Andy's not your typical teen."

Room 182

Kaede snapped out of her small snooze when the phone rang. She quickly reached for it. "Operator."

"Oneesan, be careful in there," Heero's voice came from the receiver. "I saw a couple of them out there in the lobby. They'll make their move soon."

"Got it," she replied. "Now please insert twenty-five cents to complete your call."

"Hn," came her brother's response before hanging up.

Kaede could help but silently laugh in delight as she hung up the phone. It was too fun teasing her stoical little brother.

Lobby

The young woman posing as nurse watched Heero as he entered the elevator to go down. When he was out of sight, she tapped into her earphone.

"Sir, Yuy has left," she stated. "He's going with the Prime Minister and Preventers."

"Good," Reinhardt's voice replied. "Take care of the two in the hospital."

"But he knows, sir."

"It's typical of him. I'll send Vicks to take care of Yuy and the others," Reinhardt assured. "You just take care of the ones here. Remember: I don't want any survivors, Yukki."

"Yes, sir," Yukki replied and she signed off, gazing down the hallway with her superhuman sight to room 182.

...in the car, I guess....one the way to Preventers' safehouse

"Now will you explain to us?" Zechs asked as he drove.

Heero was cautiously looking out the rearview mirror on the passenger side. He figured that they had found him. 

"Ie," he replied. "Not yet."

"They're following us, aren't they?" Relena asked worriedly. "The people who are after me."

"It's not just you, Relena," Heero said. "It's everyone in here and more. The Red Hawks don't want anyone involved to be left alive."

"Red Hawks?" Gally asked curiously.

"I'll explain it later, but once we reach safe grounds," Heero replied as he continued to look at the mirror. "Zechs, give me your gun."

Noin eyed Heero curiously. Although she couldn't work actively in the Preventers, she still had a keen eye about these things.

"You plan to shoot at the car and divert its course?" she wondered aloud.

"It's better than trying to lose them in a chase, which is what they want," Heero said as Zechs handed him his gun. He rolled down the window, releasing the safety on the gun. "To be honest, their soldiers are more skilled than anybody, even me."

in the car...uh...behind them

Vicks strictly followed orders as soon as they were given to him. Stop the Preventers' car and make sure nobody lives. Sure, it sounded easy enough to him. All the other jobs he had done were simliar to this one, and it didn't seem any different. Boy, was he sure snapped out of that confidence rather quickly when a bullet came flying towards him.

back in the Preventers' car

Relena and the others watched the driver in the car behind them narrowly avoid getting shot. It swerved off to the side, sending the car and its inhabitant flying into the woods.

"How can that be...possible?" Relena asked.

"They're not your typical soldiers that were trained in extensive military combat and tactics like the Gundam pilots," Heero answered as he stuck himself back into the car. "Artificially Enhanced Soldiers are what they are, or AES for short, from Project Neo. When they were all just kids, they were taken away from their homes, orphanages, and other shelters and had a microchip surgically inserted into their brainstem. After that, they all went under physical and mental training with inhuman abilities like jumping from one skyscraper to another."

"Artificially Enhanced Soldiers...so you mean that they're kind of like cyborgs," Zechs said.

Heero noded. "Aa, something like that."

"How do you...know all of this, Heero?" Noin asked.

Heero sat back in his seat, arms folded. There was a moment of silence before he finally spoke.

"I used to be in that project twenty years ago."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yeah, me again. Anyhoo, I'm going a bit slowly on Heero's rather long explaination of the past because if I didn't, then this chapter would be at least 16 to 20 pages long, ya know? Anyhoo, hope you like and R&R!!


	10. Chapter Nine

AN: We will now continue on with the 2nd portion of Heero's explaination...sort of. Oh, and I don't know much about Episode Zero, so let's just say that it doesn't exist, okay? It just makes this fic a bit more easier to understand...

Chapter Nine

"Twenty...years ago?" Relena murmured.

Heero turned to look back at her with a sad smile on his face. "Why do you think it's so easy for me to do the impossible?"

This question was more addressed to everybody in the car besides Relena, but she felt a bit surprised by his reaction. She had never seen him look like that before. Gally, of course, had no clue about Heero's past so she silently listened on, hoping to catch something important about Andy's past. Zechs had instinctively narrowed his eyes as he drove on. The safehouse wasn't far from now, and he figured that everyone would be surprised, particularly a certain brunet with a braid.

Heero continued on, his face grim. "If it wasn't for Doctor J, my sister and I would have been exactly like mere puppets under the Red Hawks' command. He saved the two of us because he knew our father and had a promise to keep. However, he could only save Kaede and me. That's why he uses a cane to help his limp leg."

Hosptial...I forgot the name

Kaede had absentmindedly dozed off after Heero's phone call. If she wasn't a light sleeper, he would have had her head even if she was the elder of the two.

"What are you doing, Nurse?" she asked.

Yukki, in hospital uniform, paused and turned around, smiling. _Damn, I forgot that she's still here._

"Oh, I'm just doing a regular checkup on your brother here," she replied innocently and quickly slid the syringe full of mercury back in its hiding place. "The doctor prescribed some medication."

Kaede walked towards Yukki with an arched eyebrow. "While he's still unconscious?"

Like Heero, Kaede was able to keep a perfectly emotionless face. It was instinct to her ever since she was a child. Yukki didn't see the suspicion behind it and continued on with her excuse. "It's better for him that he's asleep because the effects of the medication while conscious are fairly extreme."

Kaede's suspicions were justified as she saw a glimpse of the syringe. She smirked. "Oh really?"

Landing a solid punch in Yukki's midsection, she fell unconscious. Kaede quickly dragged the woman's body towards a seat, taking out whatever items Yukki had on her.

"Damn, I thought I would get somebody a bit more challenging," she muttered as she stuffed all the items in her purse. "Just a low ranking one."

Picking up the syringe, Kaede examined it before putting it back in Yukki's sleeve and then headed towards Andy's bed, taking out some of the cords attached to stationary machines and leaving him with only a respirator and the bag of IV fluid. She knew that he could survive with only just that. Afterwards, she gently carried Kitsune over to his bed where the young girl unconsciously curled into a tight ball at her brother's side. 

"Well, here we go," Kaede murmured as she destroyed the tracker on one of the bed's legs and rolled the two out of the room. As soon as she left, it exploded, sending the entire hospital scrambling in a frenzy.

Preventers' safehouse

Relena, Heero, Zechs, Noin, and Gally finally arrived at the Preventers' safehouse. It was located deep in the thick of the forest, far from civilization. No enemy could be able to penetrate it from above for it was deep within the safe confines of the earth. Its whereabouts remain hidden from society with only the chosen few working there and other members within the Preventers such as Zechs and Noin. 

They entered the facility with Relena helping Gally out and Heero in tow. A rather small group were hanging out in the main lobby, including all of the other four former Gundam pilots.

"Hey, what took you guys so long? And where's Kitsune?" Duo asked but found his answer soon enough by the man who entered the area last. 

"Heero!" Quatre exclaimed.

"He was under disguise before Relena found out," Zechs explained. "He's also Andy and Kitsune's guardian."

"Nani?!?" that came from Duo.

"I was wondering why those two looked so much like you," Sally said. "I assume that you know about the current situation more than the rest of us do."

Heero nodded in his usual manner before asking, "Is there a videophone here?"

"Oi, you should at least explain where've you been all these years, you know," Duo said.

Wufei gestured to the counter behind him. "It's behind here, but why do you need it?"

Heero walked towards the videophone, answering, "I need to make a checkup call."

Nobody in the room knew what he was talking about, and Heero didn't even bother to explain as he dialed his sister's cell phone number.

to Kaede

After the explosion, Kaede easily found an empty ambulance van and set Andy into the back with a bit of difficulty. Fortunately, though, Kitsune had woken up during all of the commotion and helped the older woman lift the bed into the van and keep an eye on the unconscious teen. 

They were now driving through the streets, heading towards the barren highway. There was no particular destination in Kaede's mind to go to until a beeping noise came into her ear. She hooked up her cell to the visual monitor on the dashboard before answering. "Yeah, what is it?"

Heero's face appeared on the monitor. He looked rather suspicious as he took a glance at the new surroundings. 

"Since when were you in an ambulance?" he asked a bit sarcastically. 

Kaede and Kitsune exchanged looks before giggling. Kaede brushed back a stray lock of her hair from her eyes. "Maa, you were right about some of those Hawks coming in to kill Andy, but we got out okay thanks to my ingenious plan."

"Can I talk to Hee-chan, Kaede-neechan?" Kitsune asked. 

Kaede winked at the screen. "Kitsune-chan wants to talk to you."

She handed the young girl her earpiece. Kitsune delicately handled the piece and put it in her own ear before speaking. 

"Hi, Hee-chan!" she said enthusiastically.

Heero ignored the snickers from Duo behind him. He gave the other man his special "Omae o Korosu" deathglare before going back to the conversation. 

"You look better, Kitsune," he said. "How's your shoulder?"

Kitsune rotated her injured left shoulder as proof that it had already healed. "See? I can move it around now, but it's still kinda stiff."

Heero nodded in satisfaction. "How's your brother?"

"Anno...he woke up a few minutes ago and then went back to sleep again," the girl replied.

"Sou ka...it'll be a while before he'll wake up again."

Kitsune nodded in agreement. Heero smiled before asking, "Kitsune, let me talk to Kaede so I can give her directions."

"Hai!"

His sister was now in view, but she kept her eyes on the road. "Where in the world are you?"

"I'm in the JFCC098 area," he replied. "Just head straight towards the main road of the forest and there should be a side road that will lead you to the safehouse."

"Okay, whatever you say," she said as she veered off the main road for a bumpy ride. _Oh, is Andy not going to have a good sleep._

Preventers safehouse

"Who was that?" Lady Une asked. 

"My oneesan," Heero replied as he hung up and walked towards one of the chairs. 

The way Heero had answered gave the others a glue to sit down as well as he told his story. 

"My family, the Kanazakis, weren't your typical family. Our mother was a stay-at-home mom, teaching us all of the necessities to survive on our own, but she was killed in a freak accident soon after Kitsune was born. Our father, we rarely ever saw, but he was one of the ten scientists who were in charge of Project Neo..."

* * *

*Dundundun...* The drama continues. Part Three of Heero's Story will come soon! R&R!! 

~Ayame-chan

rinoakt8@squaresoftrules.com


	11. Chapter Ten

AN: Whoo hoo! Tenth chapter is up! Sorry for the long wait, but now I've been going on through a writing streak ^_^.

Chapter Ten

"Our family's a family of five: three boys, two girls. My oldest brother died a while ago when I was only around four or so, but I didn't find that out until later," Heero began.

"So where were you, then?" Relena asked. She looked at him for a moment before looking at her hands. "I...I mean, where were you during the time of your brother's death?"

"Stuck in an underground facility in colony L1," he answered. "My sister, Kaede, my younger brother and myself were undergoing these experiments. My father was a scientist for the Red Hawks, so he used us to test a new prototype system to improve soldiers' physical stases."

"Red Hawks? Is that what these people are called?" Lady Une asked. 

Heero nodded.

"If your father was doing all of these...experiments on your and your siblings...where was your mother during all of this time?" Quatre asked.

Heero had a faraway look in his eyes, a blue flame flickering inside. "She...was oblivious to what he was doing to us. He used to make up some stupid excuse to her at home and then take us to the facility. He wouldn't take my older brother, though, because he was considered 'too old' for the experiment."

"'Too old'?" Noin repeated.

"The experiments were best effective when given to small children because their brains aren't as developed as adults."

"What were these...experiments?" Gally asked curiously.

"We...were injected with some sort of serum, I guess. Wasn't too sure what it was. Then the scientists would put us in a variety of exercises to build our physical capabilities: running, dodging, swimming, vision tests and the like. After we were able to master those, then they would put us through a proto-military training in a sense."

"So, that serum was able to sharpen and enhance your physical capabilities," Zechs murmured in understanding.

"My brother found out what our father was doing and went in to rescue us," Heero continued, then he broke a very sarcastic smile. "The only thing was I didn't know that he was my brother then."

"What was his name?" Relena asked.

"Never really knew. He didn't tell. All there is in the records is his codename: Odin Lowe."

in the ambulance

Kaede sneezed. And sneezed again.

"Bless you, Kaede-neechan!" Kitsune said.

Kaede sniffed the last bit of fresh air that she had. "Aa, arigatou, Kitsune-chan."

She was closing in the Preventers' safehouse, being careful to not drive so fast for Andy who was in the back. However, while listening to Kitsune's chatter, her mind was wondering what Heero was discussing to the others: his friends that he had refused to recognize.

_We aren't capable to taking them all on our own. You have to at least have them help us, _she thought.

Preventers' safehouse

"Odin Lowe? The man who saved you was your own brother?" Duo asked incredulously.

"What Doctor J had told me was that he was working under him as a mercenary-for-hire," Heero replied. "My brother wasn't going to high school like my father had thought. He had met up with Doctor J who had taught him pretty much the mastery of becoming a perfect assassin. Unfortunately, he was shot to death by a sniper rifle when he was trying to blow up the facility after rescuing us. Kaede and I had to complete the job for him."

"Only Kaede and you? What happened to your other brother?" Lady Une asked.

Once again Heero had the distant look in his eyes as he delved even further into his memories.

"...I'm not sure," he slowly replied. "When Odin invade the facility, he tried to let us escape through the emergency space capsules; but he was only able to launch my younger brother because security reached us. I suppose that he's on Earth somewhere, but I'm not so sure. He could've also been shot down by Alliance troops because they forbid travel between the colonies and Earth."

"You said...that you had two brothers and sisters," Relena slowly said, absorbing every little detail. "But you only mentioned Kaede. Who's your other sister?"

Heero smiled a very teasing smile. "Couldn't you see the similarities between us? Kitsune's my imouto." Before anyone could ask any further questions, he explained, "Kitsune was born a few years after my youngest brother was born, after we had escaped from the facility. She was immediately taken away from my mother at infancy by the Red Hawks and transferred to Alberta's base here. That's where Andy found her and took care of her. They both underwent a totally different exercise than what Kaede and I went through. From what Andy has told me, a microchip was inserted into the back of their brainstem that contained the same serum that was injected into us. The serum was ten times more powerful, creating what the Red Hawks called their 'perfect soldiers'."

"Than what does that make Andy?" Gally asked. "Family wise, I mean."

"I guess you can say that he's my cousin."

An intercom rang in the room, disrupting Heero's lengthy story. However, he looked as if he was done with interrogation. For now, anyway. Zechs answered.

"What is it?" he asked through the speaker.

"Sir, uh...there's this woman and child asking for admittance," came a voice. "Do I let them in, sir?"

"Is there anyone else with them?" Zechs continued.

"Um...there's an injured young man in the back of the ambulance."

"That's probably Kaede and Kitsune," Heero said.

Zechs nodded in agreement. "Let them in and tell the meds to get their asses of of their seats and bring the young man in there some attention."

"Hai!"

After a few moments, Kitsune and Kaede entered the room. The girl was bouncing around like she hadn't had a single injury at all as she greeted the gang.

"Konnichiwa, minna-san!" she said.

"Kitsune, what happened to your gun wound?" Relena asked incredulously, pointing at the girl's shoulder.

Kitsune looked at her left shoulder for a second and then laughed, rotating her shoulder to show that she was fine.

"It's all better now!" she said. "Although it's kinda sore..."

Whatever doubts that everyone had about Heero's story was diminished. Duo let out a low whistle.

"And I thought Heero trying to fix is own leg was bad," he murmured under his breath.

Kaede looked at her brother for a moment and then at everyone else.

"Maa, I guess he told the story to you guys," Kaede addressed in her usually optimistic fashion.

"...Sort of," Wufei muttered.

Kaede flipped back her hair, looking at the Preventers with a businesslike expression on her face. "Let's get started, shall we?" 


	12. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Alberta, Canada

Reinhardt slammed his fist on his desk, glaring at Roy's silent figure.

"Do you know where they are now?" he growled at his officer.

If Roy was afraid of his commander, he showed no sign of it. Showing emotion, to him, was a sign of weakness. 

"Ie," Roy answered stoically. "Vicks had lost sight of them as soon as Yuy fired. However, we are searching as hard as we can.

His commander nodded vehemently as he began to pace around the room. Roy's cool green eyes followed his commander's every movement. After a few minutes of pacing, Reinhardt stopped and turned to Roy.

"How's Yukki?" he asked.

"In a coma right now, but her burns are healing, sir."

Reinhardt nodded again and pondered to himself. "Were you able to get any information about them?"

Roy stared back at his commander. "Hai. The woman that had stopped Yukki is Kaede Yuy, Heero Yuy's older sister. Like him, she's also a freelance mercenary although we don't know who she's working for yet. The Preventers that were in there are under Heero Yuy's protection. The girl is Setsuko Kanazaki, but her name was changed to Setsuko Lowe soon after the war seven years ago. She's one of the Preventers' youngest recruits."

Reinhardt took a moment to absorb the information. "And the other one?"

Unconsciously, Roy clenched his right hand into a tight fist. "His name is Akito Kanazaki, but it was changed to Andrew Lowe by his own terms. He's one of the Preventers' best recruits."

"It would seem so," Reinhardt commented. "He was the one who pushed Prime Minister Dorlain away from danger when you fired, isn't he?"

"Hai."

Reinhardt went over to his desk and glanced at the pictures given to him a while ago. Andy's profile was on top. For some odd reason, the face looked familiar to him. _Could he be one of the missing?_

"General Reinhardt," Roy's voice snapped him out of thought. Reinhardt looked up. "What are your orders, sir?"

"Find them. All of them. However, make sure that you bring them back _alive_."

Preventers' safehouse

"Are you okay in there, Kitsune-chan?" Lady Une asked through the intercom.

"Uh-huh."

She was seated in the middle of a white room with a device on her head. Screens blinked around everywhere and she looked around the desert before her. Lady Une and Noin were in an adjacent room, along with many other techies, studying the screens.

"All clear, Noin-san," one of the techies said.

"Okay, Kitsune-chan, we're going to start the tests now," Noin said into the microphone. She motioned to begin.

Enemies popped up all around her. Kitsune quickly looked around and reacted just as they were upon her.

Most of the techies in the room gasped, astonished with the results that they were receiving.

"That's incredible!" Lady Une exclaimed. "I've never seen anybody move that fast."

"And from what Heero told us, she hasn't been through the complete military exercise back then," Zechs added as he entered.

"It's still incredible for a girl her age to do so much," Lady Une pointed out. "I mean, to totally annihilate two hundred computerized soldiers in five minutes with only a 16 caliber pistol? (AN: I don't know much about guns, okay?) That's inhuman."

"Stop the tests," Noin told the techie at the main controls. Then she addressed in the intercom, "Okay, Kitsune-chan, it's done."

Kitsune took off the device on her head. She emerged with all smiles. "Wow, that was fun! Can we do that again?"

_Fun?_ Noin thought. "Maybe some other time, Kitsune-chan."

"Okay!"

As Kitsune left, Wufei entered the room. "How'd it go?"

"Perfectly," Noin answered. "It...wasn't what I expected, though."

"Andrew's probably faster than Kitsune, though," Zechs said. "You were there, Wufei, weren't you? When he pushed Relena out of the way?"

"Aa," Wufei answered. "I was surprised that he actually saw the thing. The sniper rifle, I mean."

"How _is _Andy, anyway?" Lady Une asked.

Wufei shrugged. "I'm not sure. From what I've heard from Heero's sister, he's still half-conscious."

hallway

He was leaving her. Again. No, she wouldn't let him get away from her.

"Heero!"

He stopped and turned around, facing her. Relena walked to him. "Where are you going?"

His usually emotionless eyes flickered as he stared at her. "I'm going to see what the Red Hawks are up to. They'll probably find this place soon."

Relena fought back tears. Suddenly Heero's resolve started to waver. 

"But why? You just finally revealed yourself and you're leaving?"

"...It's for your own safety, Relena."

When he tried to walk away, she grabbed his arm. She could feel his muscles tense up. Heero could never get used to Relena's gentle touch.

"For my own safety? What do you mean?" she pleaded.

He was remembering how she had taken care of him soon after Mariemeia's fall. How he had forced himself to focus on saving his family after getting information from Kaede of Kitsune and Andy's existence.

Heero swallowed and then replied softly, "You wouldn't understand if I told you."

"How?" Relena asked, her grip on him tightening. "How wouldn't I understand after all you've said?"

Heero responded by pulling her into a deep, passionate kiss. Relena was surprised at first, but gladly returned it. When they parted lips, Heero still held her close to him, but he could not stare into her eyes as they both tried to catch their breaths.

"Don't tempt me," he murmured before letting go and walking to the exit.

Relena just stood there, frozen and shocked at the same time. She watched him go, watched him leave the Preventers' safehouse, and watched him disappear.

Again.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Um...don't kill me, please? *innocent smile* 


	13. Chapter Twelve

AUTHORESS NOTES: Er...sorry for the long update. I know, I left off at a bad ending, didn't I? *cringes as her twin relentlessly reminds her* Uh..yeah, why did I do that? You'll see later on ^^.

Chapter Twelve

Relena ran as fast as she could back to her own room. Tears blinded her sight, causing her to run into anything and everything that got in her way. She didn't bother to apologize to the people she ran into; all she wanted to do was go to her room and cry. Heero had left her again, but this time it wasn't like any of the other times he had done this. She had been searching for him for the past seven years without a trace, and then he suddenly showed up without warning all to just disappear again. 

Just thinking about it made her tears fall out more.

A thin yet strong body stepped in her way, causing her to collapse into the person's arms.

"Relena-san?" a familiar feminine voice asked, surprised. "What's wrong?"

"I...Heero...he..." she stuttered out.

**After they parted lips, Heero still held her close but did not dare to look into her eyes.**

**"Don't tempt me," he murmured.**

Kaede kept Relena upright as she cried on her shoulder, a mixture of sympathy and anger welling up inside her chest. She felt sorry for Relena and was angry at her younger brother for avoiding the woman he cared for the most.

_Heero no baka!_ she thought angrily, frowning. _Why are you always avoiding her? Why make her suffer like this?!?_

Kaede Yuy knew her brother's relationship with the woman named Relena Darlain quite well, for she was asked by Doctor J to keep an eye on her brother during the first war. Although he never admitted it, she knew that Heero was thinking of her the past seven years but forced himself to focus on rescuing and protecting their trapped family from the Red Hawks. This was important to both siblings, but Kaede also understood the trials of love and how it could be painful as being shot through the heart.

_Oh, am I gonna throttle his neck once he gets back from the base, _she thought angrily. She had a feeling that something was going to happen when he decided to leave without notice.

Yet first things first: to get a broken and sobbing Prime Minister out of the public eye.

"Ne, Relena-san, why don't we go someplace else and talk about it?" she suggested.

The younger woman nodded, trying to wipe away her tears. Kaede gently led Relena out of the crowded hallway, giving looks to the other Preventers around saying that she had it covered. She eventually led Relena to a secluded area of the base and set her down on a bench. Kaede looked at her straight in the eye, asking,

"Okay, what did that idiot little brother of mine say to you?"

Red Hawks

Heero sat quietly in the van that he had stolen from the Preventers' base with the cap of his disguise down to cover his eyes. He was back in the hear of the Red Hawks' headquarters posing as a delivery man. The last time Heero had come here was during the past few days before he had rescued Andy and Kitsune seven years ago. He had thought it would be the last time he would be in the Red Hawks' way, but he was wrong after the events during the past few days.

"Excuse me, sir," said a security guard.

Heero gave her a charming smile as he looked up, "Yes?"

The guard smiled back, handing him back a packet of papers. "Here's your papers back ,but can we take a look at your cargo? For security reasons."

"No problem," he replied, pushing a button that unlocked the back of the van.

"Arigatou," the guard replied and walked back with her partner to the back of the vehicle.

Heero kept his cheerful face until the guard had disappeared from his view. He had nothing to worry about what were in the boxes of his van. They were just plastic containers and blank paper. What bothered Heero was Relena's well-being.

_Why does Reinhardt want Relena killed? That's just not his style..., _he brooded. _Or does he think that Project AES is ready to initiate?_

His thoughts then flashed back to the kiss he gave Relena before he left. A small smile crept to his face. _Don't worry. Whatever happens, I'll protect you._

"Okay, you're free to go," the guard said. "The drop off area is in sector C14."

"Arigatou," he replied and started the engine, strolling his way through. As soon as he reached the sector, he turned of the engine and got out. He opened the back and carried out a couple of boxes just so that the security knew he was doing his "job". However, once he was out of camera sight and reach, he snuck into the security room. The two men that sat inside were munching on a couple of donuts as they watched the screens.

"Hey, do you wanna go the the club tonight, Roj?" one asked.

"Aah...maybe," the man named Roj answered.

Heero tiptoed quietly behind them as they continued their idle talk.

"Oh, c'mon, you always back out when I ask," the other man said. 

Heero quickly dispatched him with a cop at the neck. Roj quickly reacted, jumping out of his seat and taking out his gun.

"Who're you?" he demanded.

Without replying, Heero knocked out Roj before he could fire.

"Sumanu, but I have to check out some things first," he said to the men on the ground as he tied them up. After tying them and making sure that the twine was secure, Heero grabbed a chair and sat in front of the database computer. 

"Let's see...what does Reinhardt have planned?" he asked himself.

Preventers' Hospital

**_Beep...beep..._**

"I'm surprised with all of his injuries that he's still alive," a voice said.

_Who is that?_

"How long do you think it's gonna take him to...wake up? Will he be okay?" another voiced asked in concern.

_That voice..._

Darkness surrounded him. Everywhere he looked, there was darkness. A glimpse of light was above him but he could barely grasp it. Yet he persistently tried to get it. They needed him. He had to wake up.

"I'm guessing around two weeks or more..." the voice answered.

_I can't wait two weeks. Kitsune needs my help._

Then he tried harder to reach the light. It came closer and closer yet still was too far to grasp. Then suddenly, his body was overwhelmed with shock.

**_Beep...beep...beep..._**

Andy slowly opened his eyes to the conscious world, staring into a pair of violet eyes. Gally's eyes.

"...Andy?"


	14. Chapter Thirteen

AN: Yeah, more chapters!! I'll finish this soon, hopefully ^^.

Chapter Thirteen

"...Andy?" 

Andy searched through his memory bank as he stared back at Gally. He blinked a couple of times as he tried to voice out words.

"G...Gal...Gally?"

Gally breathed out a sigh of relief. "Andy, you're okay! I thought you were going to stay like that forever..."

Andy tried to sit up, testing out his limbs. He managed to sit upright despite Gally's protesting hands. He looked at her, a black lock of hair staying in front of his eyes.

"How long have I been asleep?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

"Eh? Anno...I think a day or so," she replied. "But are you sure you should be sitting up like that?"

_A day...hmph, I guess I was in worse shape than I thought, _he thought, ignoring Gally's question.

"...Andy?"

"I'm fine," he replied, flexing his arm muscles. "Can you help me get these needles off?"

"Um...sure," Gally replied as she began to pull off the tubes hoooked on his right arm.

"Where's my sister?" he asked her while taking off the needles on his other arm with his teeth. _Geez, what do they think I am, a robot or something?_

"She's with Quatre-san," she answered, eyeing the way how Andy yanked off the needles. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Huh? What does?" Andy asked as he made eye contact with her again.

Gally stared into his eyes for a second before she continued to gently pry off the needles, fighting back down a blush. "Taking off those needles like that. Doesn't it hurt?"

"Nah, I'm used to it," he replied. "Naze?"

"Your uncle Heero told us what's going on," she said softly. "I mean, with you and Kitsune-chan and all."

"Hn, so he finally reveals himself," he murmured.

"You're not surprised?"

"Ie, not at all. It's about time Heero told the others. He's been afraid to tell you guys about it."

"Why?"

"The Red Hawks have been hunting us down since the day he rescued us. They're a strong underground organization. If anyone got dragged into it, they can't get out."

"But why are they after you and Relena?"

"I'm not sure about the Prime Minister, but..." once again he stared at her in the eye, "Kitsune-chan and I have something that's different from all the other kids who escaped from Project AES."

Red Hawks' HQ

"General Reinhardt," a soldier called to his superior.

Reinhardt glanced back from the window. "What is it?"

"Sir, someone's hacking the computer's databse," the soldier replied.

"Must be Yuy," he muttered to himself. "Find his location."

"Hai!"

"Kaitou," Reinhardt called out.

A young man appeared in the shadows next to him. "Hai?"

"Go and say 'hello' to our new guest, will you?"

Kaitou's Prussian blue eyes gleamed with delight. "Of course."

Heero glanced up at the security monitors to see a pack of soldiers running through one of the hallways.

"Che," he cursed to himself and quickly took out the disk he used to record. He got what he needed.

He checked the security screens again. _So they think they can surround me? _He when towards the door and took out his gun, shoooting at the control lock. Once it jammed into place, he took a chair to stand on top on, punching his way at the gate of an air duct. The small gate opened without resistance and he climbed into the duct. He closed the gate just as the guards were banging against the door, smirking to himself. _Too easy._

The air duct was a tight squeeze to get into, but Heero was still able to move around. It just depended onthe direction he was facing. He checked the miniature map on his watch, figuring out wher the closest exit was. He frowned, _This place has changed a lot more than I thought. _Sliding forward through the duct's mazes, Heero made his way to the engine room.

Preventers' base ~ control room

"NANI?" Duo exclaimed. "Heero's gone?!?"

"It appears so," Lady Une said. "One of our recon vans are gone as well as all the equipment inside. That's one hundred plastic bombs."

"Che, so much for a reunion," he muttered.

"He's probablky trying to get something that we don't know," Wufei guessed. "But why would he need all those explosives?"

"As an escape route if the Red Hawks ever find him, which they probably did, knowing how good they are at observation," Andy answered from the doorway.

Everyone turned around, surprised.

"Andy!" Sally exclaimed. "I thought you were still unconscious."

Andy scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "Well, I WAS. Or sleeping, actually. I was kinda hungry on the way, too, so I think you need to replenish your food supplies in a day or two..."

"Your injuried are already healed? Sally said that it would take you at least a month and a half to recover," Wufei said.

"You act like as if you're perfectly fine," Duo added, astonished.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I'm a bit sore," Andy admitted. "But otherwise, I'm just fine."

_Just sore?_ Duo repeated in his mind.

"Heard that Heero told you guys what's going on," Andy continued, changing the subject. "So...where'd he go this time?"

Red Hawks' HQ ~ Engine Room

Heero easily made his way through the air ducts' maze and landed in the engine room. He was still wary, though, since some of the children from Project AES were just as good as he was. His eyes caught the attention of two huge mirror windows, each as wide as ten people.

_Funny this didn't come up on the map that oneesan gave me, _he thought.

He gently tapped his gun against one of the windows. An echo followed, indicating to him that it was hollow. Curiously, he began to look aroudn for an entrance to the hidden room. In the room that he occupied were two huge generators to maintain electricity of the base and a control panel in the center. Papers were strewn all ove the panel. Some were logs of the generators' activity while others were designes for some new weapons. Heero cautiously walked over to the panel, scanning through their contents. A small tin box was slightly hiding behind a stack of papers caught his eye. He gingerly lifted the box and opened it, surprised to find an ordinary card key inside. 

_Why is a key in a box? Odd..._

He walked over to the mirrors and scanned closely for an opening of any kind. He found one just barely sliced over the exit. It looked like a scratch of some sort at a first glance, but Heero knew that looks could be deceiving. _It doesn't look like the key would fit, but..._

He slid the key into the slit and the mirrors in front of him faded into the background. Heero stood in utter shock at what was before him. Things that he thought would never exist again: Gundams.

AN: *dun dun dun* It may be a bit cliche, but hm....you just have to wonder. I've always wondered why if the Gundams were destroyed, couldn't somebody make a new one? Well, this is your result. ^^ I'll type up the next chapter soon, so R&R!


	15. Chapter Fourteen

AN: Yeah, here's more of True Victor! Sorry for not updating as I promised I should, but I was taking care of my 2 year old niece and...well, the rest explains it ^^. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Fourteen

Heero stepped into the area that was once hidden by two mirrors. Recovering from the shock that had attacked him, he scanned the area. _There's so many of them...,_he thought. _How did they attain the materials to make so many? Better yet, how did they get the INFORMATION to make them?_

His thoughts were interrupted by gunshots. A bullet whizzed by his ear, barely missing his head by mere inches. He rolled out of the way as more gunshots rang out. Heero shot back at his assailant while hiding behind one of the Gundams' massive feet. He only caught a glimpse of his attacker as he turned back to cover himself from a rain of bullets.

"Kuso, I don't have time for this," he muttered to himself as he returned the bullets. 

His watch began to beep rapidly during all of this. Once again he hid behind the Gundam's feet as his assailant returned fire. He glanced back to see a figure fade away from his last position. _He's fast. _He tapped the small screen on his watch annoyingly, wondering who in the world would call him at this time. Kaede's face appeared on the screen.

"Oneesan?" he asked in surprise, flinching as another bullet whizzed by.

"What in the world did you do to that poor girl? She won't even say anything to me!" Kaede asked angrily.

"What girl?" he asked, rolling to the other leg and firing his weapon.

"Relena, baka. What did you say to her, huh??"

"Oneesan, I don't have time to be talking about this...:

"Oh, yes you do, Heero Yuy. You can't escape from me now. Do you even realize how much you're hurting Relena?"

Pondering on the question for a bit, Heero sprinted over to the side rail and fired with the remainder of his bullets. He slid underneath the rail and took out another round.

"Heero, are you listening to me?"

"Look, oneesan, it's for her own good. If it wasn't for the assassination attempt, I would've kept her out of this," he replied in a muffled voice with a bullet in his mouth. "She's better off not knowing."

"So then you would cut yourself off from a life? You would torture yourself like this? Heero, if you love the girl, then stay with her for once!"

Heero paused in loading his gun as a memory flashed back in his mind.

Flashback ~ after the 197AC incident

He slowly opened his eyes to the light and stared into bright sapphire eyes. 

"Heero, daijoubu?" Relena asked in a soft voice, her eyes filled with hope.

"Relena..." he murmured.

She smiled at him, brushing away the tears in her eyes. "Thank goodness. I thought that you were never going to wake up."

He began to sit up, but Relena stopped him midway. "Don't. You're still injured pretty badly."

He ignored the pain that shot through his ribs and her touch, sitting up anyway. "How long...how long have I been asleep like this?"

"About a week now," she replied.

His eyes widened slightly, but they quickly returned to normal. He looked at her for the first time, admiring how beautiful she looked with her hair down and the sun's rays reflecting upon them. "You...you've been taking care of me all this time?"

She nodded. "The doctors said that it was a miracle that you were still alive, with all the injuries that you had." She tore away from his gaze. "I was afraid that you would never wake up."

He too looked away from her, unsure of what to do. He realized that, with the exception with his tanktop, his clothes were intact. His jacket and tanktop hung on a nearby rack. His ribs were wound tightly together by bandages to keep them in place. 

"A week, huh..." he finally murmured to break the silence between them. His head snapped in realization that he had something to do. He got out of bed quickly, much to Relena's surprise.

"Heero, what are you doing?"

"I have to go."

"Where?"

"Somewhere you wouldn't know."

Knowing that he was serious about leaving, Relena took her last opportunity to stop him by wrapping her arms around him in a hug. He froze at her touch, his muscles tensing up. She buried her head in the crook of his neck, fighting back tears.

"Please don't go," she whispered.

Not knowing what to do, Heero stood where he was. "I have to, Relena."

"Then can you at least stay a little longer?" she asked, looking back up at him with tears in her eyes.

Heero looked blankly back at her, but his mind was racing for options. He hated seeing girls cry, especially Relena. In an attempt to comfort her, he gently brushed away a tear that trailed down her cheek. He closed his eyes, savoring the moment. There was still time left before he had to go, right? He mentally nodded to himself. He could stay...for a little while.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, pulling her into a kiss.

End of Flashback

"You don't want to know what happened before," he replied in a soft voice. "Besides, we can't let them get Andy and Kitsune."

"I know, but you think about others too much. Why don't you let yourself be selfish for once?" Kaede asked. "Does it hurt you that much that you DO have the right to have some piece of mind?"

"I---"

Heero rolled out of his hiding place as the bullets rang against the metal wall nearby. Only one bullet clipped his left forearm, causing him to slightly lose his grip on his gun.

"Oneesan, I'll call you later," he said, abruptly turning off his watch.

"Heero, matte----"

Preventers base ~ boarding room

"Heero? Heero!" Kaede shouted on her communicator before slamming her fists on the table. "Mou..." _Why does he always do that?_

A knock came at the door. "Who is it?"

"Anno...Kaede-neechan, it's me," came Kitsune's voice from the other side. 

Kaede sighed out of her own frustration and slumped in her seat, replying, "Come in."

Kitsune entered the room, looking around warily. "What happened?"

"Your idiot uncle...er...I mean, your uncle," Kaede began, correcting herself, "cut off communication with me. I'm not sure what he's doing, but I think that he got caught."

"Did Hee-chan get anything?" she asked, taking a seat.

"Not that I know of."

"Is he goin' to come back?"

Kaede sighed again, letting herself submit to her exhaustion. "I hope so, Kitsune-chan. I hope so..."

Red Hawks' HQ ~ Engine Room

Heero jumped out of the way again as he and his opponent went on full scale attack. Yet every time he fired, his opponent would easily slip out of the bullet's way. _He's fast...a little too fast. _And as he got closer and closer to get a glimpse of his opponent's face, the man would disappear. All that Heero caught sight of was a black trenchcoat and eyes that matched his.

"Enough playing around," Heero growled and leaped onto the arm of one Gundam.

Catching sight of his opponent before he caught sight of him, he jumped back down and took his opponent by surprise. The two men lost their balance upon impact and rolled around before one was able to get on top of the other, each gun aimed right at the heart of the other. Their eyes widened in surprise as they recognized one another.

"Heero..." the man said.

"Kaitou..." Heero murmured.

AN: *dun dun dun* Teehee, I wonder who Kaitou is?? Oh, I'm sure that you guys are smart enough to figure that out ^^. Oh, yes, the idea of the flashback came from reading one of Tin's oneshot fics between Heero and Relena after he started to recover from that blast from the destruction of Wing Zero. I forget what it's called, though....Anyhoo, R&R!


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Noin knocked on the door once again. "Relena-san?" 

Getting no reply, Noin sighed inwardly to herself. Ever since Kaede re-escorted her back to her room, Relena had not made one single step outside.

"Relena-san, I've left some food here for you," she said, carefully setting down the tray of food. "It's best that you eat. Daijoubu, Heero will come back."

Again getting no response, Noin sullenly left the hallway and back to her own work. Inside, Relena lie on her bed, her face blankly staring at the wall. Her tear soaked pillow had dried after some time, and her eyes were red with lack of moisture. Heero's words kept on returning to her.

**"Don't tempt me."**

She closed her eyes tight, curling herself back into a ball as she remembered what had happened the night before he left seven years ago.

Red Hawks HQ ~ Engine Room

The two brothers stared at one another in a deadlock, then they broke off.

"Geez, don't scare me like that," Kaitou muttered. "Thought you were one of those damn Red Hawks."

"Where have you been?" Heero asked. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he looked at his younger brother's uniform. "Why are you wearing their uniform?"

Kaitou dusted off his jacket before putting his gun away. He was a young man of twenty years, and the only reason why Heero had recognized him was because he looked like an exact replica of Heero, with the exception of his hair and height. Kaitou had jet black hair like Kitsune's and was much taller than his older brother, topping off at an even six feet.

"Why do you think I'm wearing this?" he asked. "This was the only way I could get Reinhardt's trust."

"So he thinks that you don't remember your family," Heero answered his own question. He took a good look at his younger brother. "You've grown."

Kaitou broke into a halfhearted grin. "Heh, quit being such a scrooge, aniki. I'm surprised that you actually recognized me after thirteen years."

"The same goes for you," Heero said, smiling. He looked up at one of the mobile suits. "Do you know why these are here?"

"Aa. Reinhardt plans on using them to wipe out any resistance and take over. With kids that have been superficially enhanced..." Kaitou explained.

"I'd be too easy to take over," Heero finished. He put his hand on the cold metal of the mobile suit. _Can't let this happen._

"Look, aniki, I know what you're thinkin', but---"

Kaitou was cut off short as a bullet whizzed by his head. The two men turned around. 

"There they are! Get them!"

"Che, they have to find out sooner or later, don't they?" Kaitou muttered, returning fire. He only blinked once before the pack of soldiers before them disappeared before his eyes.

"We don't stand a chance against them," Heero said, grabbing his brother by the collar of his jacket and running behind the Gundam for cover. "Those are the AES soldiers."

"Then how're we gonna get away?" Kaitou asked, raising his voice as the gunshots got even closer.

Heero scanned around the area again. There were rows and rows of Gundam suits and nothing else. He took a look at the Gundam that they were using for cover. _I guess I have no other choice...._

"Follow me," he said, leaping onto the side rail again and sprinted for the stairway.

"Oi, aniki, matte!" Kaitou yelled after him, following.

Although the rain of bullets were fired by an elite and superficially enhanced unit of soldiers, it was rather easy to avoid the bullets aimed for them. All it needed was accuracy and timing, which what the two brothers were experts in. The brothers jumped on top of the loading dock that led to the mobile suit's cockpit from the rear. Heero punched at the control lock to open the door and he and Kaitou ran in, closing the entrance just before an AES soldier could catch them.

"Whoa...why is it so dark in here?" Kaitou asked out loud.

Heero flipped on the control panel switch, turning everything on. _At least they didn't change the controls..._

"This mobile suit is only for one person, so you just have to squeeze in on the floor or take a seat by the emergency exit," Heero explained to his brother. "But whatever you do, DON'T push the red button."

"Right...got it," Kaitou murmured as he took the seat at the exit. He then observed his brother configure the controls. "Oi...do you know how to use this thing?"

"I piloted one a long time ago," Heero replied absentmindedly as the zero system responded to his commands. The screens before him flashed into a full view of the area. "Yosh, let's go." 

Preventers' safehouse

"Sir! Something's been picked up on radar. It's a large object flying towards us," a Preventer called at the controls.

Zechs immediately ran towards the man, "A flying object? It must be a bird or something."

Noin decided to enter just then and quickly began to register the commotion.

"Ie, it's too bit to be a bird, sir," the Preventer replied. "And our sensors detect metal."

"What kind of metal?" Noin asked curiously.

Zechs turned at his wife, thinking the same thing as she was. The Preventer at the panel didn't notice the husband and wife exchange looks but he tired to answer the question. 

"Etto...let me check," he said, glancing at the screens while typing in some commands on the computer. After a few confirmations, the screen red "ERROR" and returned to the radar screen. "Error?"

"Sir, we're getting transmission from the unidentified object," another Preventer said. 

"Put him on," Zechs ordered.

A few seconds later, Heero's face appeared on the screen. 

"Heero!" Noin exclaimed.

"Can you give me a decent landing area? Or do I have to shoot down a couple of trees?" Heero asked, oblivious to the expressions on their faces. Either he was oblivious or didn't really care what they thought.

"Landing area?" Zechs asked incredulously. "Masaka...are you piloting a mobile suit, Yuy?"

"...Something like that."

"Mobile suit? Aniki, you gotta be kidding me," a voice said in the background. "This thing's a lot different than your typical mobile suit."

"Who is that?" Noin asked.

"...A stowaway," Heero replied with some hesitation. That remark was answered by a small "Oi, who's a stowaway?!?" by the same voice, but Heero ignored him. "Anyway, can you give me the coordinates for landing space or do you guys have to experience some earthquakes for a few seconds?"

"Um..there's a space at the landing pad, sir," the Preventer said to Zechs and Noin.

Zechs glanced at Noin for a second, who silently nodded. "...All right. Heero, you can land at coordinates X-C-five-zero-zero. We'll meet you there."

"Roger," Heero said and signed off.

All the while, husband and wife stared at one another, wondering who was the other voice behind Heero. All they saw were a pair of Prussian blue eyes.

At Heero's situation

As Heero signed off, he turned around to glare at Kaitou who peaked his head out from behind Heero's seat.

"I thought I told you not to talk when I was on," he said.

"Well, yeah, you did but...when that guy said that you were piloting a mobile suit, I kinda, well..." Kaitou tried to explain with a sheepish grin on his face.

Heero groaned, head in his hands. "Never mind."

AN: Heh, heh, I guess that you can say that Heero and Kaitou are total opposites of each other. ^^ R&R!


	17. Chapter Sixteen

AN: Oi, sorry for the long delay, minna! I have been soooo busy with school and all...as well as trying to finish this up! And yes...I finally have. Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to spill it all to you at once ^^. I'm planning to updated at least every week until the entire fic is finished. So, go on ahead, read and enjoy!

Chapter Sixteen 

Heero and Kaitou Yuy sat in the Gundam in silence as they flew over the fast field of forest before them. The Gundam was pretty similar to Heero's old Wing Gundam for it could transform into a traditional fighter plane. However, it did have some new aspects to it by having a various amount of new controls and what looked like another mode, the button marked "G". Heero, however, didn't pay attention much for his only focus of mind was getting back to the Preventer for now. Kaitou sat squashed in the back of the cockpit, fiddling with his gun. _Click, _here he would slide out the bullet clip to make sure that it had seven bullets inside. _Click,_ again as he slid the clip back into his gun. Then he would repeat the process again. At first, Heero didn't mind the noise. However, as the hours passed, his patience was on its very last thread.

"Stop that," he said, glancing back at Kaitou. "It's getting annoying."

"What is?" Kaitou innocently asked, meeting his elder brother's eyes.

Heero's eyes narrowed as the thread of patience began to wear thin. "What do you think I'm talking about? The noise that your gun is making is getting annoying."

Kaitou rolled his eyes as he reluctantly put his gun back in his jacket. "Well, sor-RY if it's bugging you, but you're not speaking to me and I'm bored as hell. I ain't gonna sit and stare at the damn glowing controls all day."

"Ain't isn't a word," Heero corrected him as he held back a smirk. "And I'm speaking to you now."

"That's not what I---" Kaitou stopped in mid sentence as he noticed the smirk on his brother's face. He flung his hands in the air, shaking his head. "Argh! You know what I mean."

"Riiiight. I'm beginning to wonder if oneechan ever made contact with you and didn't tell me."

"Why's that?"

"You act like her. Hot tempered and all."

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny, aniki," Kaitou replied sarcastically as he shifted his position on the "floor". Heero chuckled silently to himself in amusement.

Silence fell upon them again. Kaitou sighed to himself as he stared at the controls for the billionth time. Then a topic popped in his head.

"Well, to tell you the truth, no, I haven't been in contact with her since the time when oniisan rescued us," he began. "When I was old enough to live on my own, I tried looking for you guys, but with all that chaos going on seven years ago, I was too busy with missions to even search."

"Hmm...so then who took care of you when we split?" Heero asked, curious.

"Well, when we split, I was scrounging around for food and stuff, homeless for a few weeks. Heck, I guess that's the only thing I can thank the doctor for: knowing how to survive with few resources at a young age."

Heero nodded in agreement, knowing who and what his younger brother was talking about. "The doctor" always referred to their father because that was what he always made them call. Their training at the young age they all were allowed them to know what to do to survive when the situation called for it. He remembered back to those days when he and Kaede were sifting through colony ruins in search for food before Doctor J found them. However, he didn't say anything and let Kaitou continue. He was the kind of person not into initiating conversation unless necessary.

"Anyways, a woman named Lin found me one day," Kaitou continued. "She told me that she saw my shuttle crash into colony L3 and began to look to see if there were any survivors. When she found me, she took me in as an adopted little brother into OZ." At this, he let out a light laugh. "Would you believe me if I told you that I didn't know what OZ was until I was ten? Lin was an OZ soldier, a part of the specials. She was killed during the first war."

Heero inwardly flinched, wondering to himself if he had been the one who had killed his younger brother's guardian during those days. However, he didn't let his guilt show. "So you're from OZ?"

Kaitou shrugged; he apparently didn't notice the look in his brother's eyes. "Used to be. When it disbanded after Treize Khushrenada's death, I pretty much worked as a self-hired mercenary. That was when I finally had the time to figure out where you guys were. You disappeared after Maremaia Khushrenada's fall and Kaede changed her name."

"No she didn't," Heero said.

"Well, her name was on the MIA list for a while."

"Oh, that. A little problem occurred in one of her missions. Somebody from the Red Hawks uncovered her identity when she was acting as a soldier at their HQ, so she had to change it."

"Oh yeah...NICE change, don't you think?" Kaitou asked sarcastically. "From Lowe to Nakayama. I don't think that really helped with the same picture on there."

"So then the Red Hawks know, huh. She likes her name anyway."

"Aa, figures."

"So then you 'joined' in to try to find us, acting as if you didn't remember us," Heero concluded, nodding thoughtfully. "I get it now."

"Geez, took you that long?"

"Ie, I had to make sure that you really ARE my brother."

Kaitou rolled his eyes. "Like how we look alike doesn't give it away."

Heero smirked. "You never know."

"Whatever."

Preventers' safehouse

"Relena-san?"

Kitsune knocked on the door again, except a little louder. "Relena-san? Are you in there?"

Relena, inside her room, ignored Kitsune's questions as she lay on the bed. Her eyes were listlessly staring up at the ceiling. She didn't want to talk to anybody right now, especially any of Heero's relatives.

However, Kitsune Yuy was determined to not give up. Even though she was only twelve years old, she could definitely tell that her "Hee-chan" and Relena had a connection with each other somehow.

"Okay, then, if you're not going to open up, then I'm going to break it down," Kitsune warned as she calmly began punching in various numbers on the control lock to Relena's room. When all of the codes didn't work, she casually glanced around her to make sure nobody was there and then punched the panel.

Inside her room, Relena turned her head at the noise, her blue eyes blinking in curiosity. She could hear Kitsune talking outside, but wasn't sure what the young girl was actually saying.

Then....BAM!

_What in the world is she doing? _Relena thought to herself, sitting up in bed. Another bang rang outside her door, then another. Finally, the door slid open quarter way, and Kitsune stuck her hands in the gap to forcefully push the door all the way open. Relena blinked in awe as Kitsune brushed the dust off her hands.

"Yosh! That's better!" she exclaimed.

"Kitsune-chan, how did you do that?" Relena asked in a dumbfounded voice as the young girl entered the room.

Kitsune quickly grabbed her hand. "C'mon, Relena-san, let's go see Hee-chan!"

"Na---"

Relena stumbled out of bed as the girl led her out of her room with a strength that she couldn't even imagine in such a young girl. She wondered to herself if Heero's siblings had all held back their strength before.

"Zechs-san told me that Hee-chan's coming back," Kitsune began to explain to her as they went from hallway to hallway. "He's flying this big robot thingy, so Zechs told him to land at a nearby hangar base not far from here."

"A big robot thingy?" Relena repeated.

"Hai! I forget what it's called, but oniichan explained to me that it's something that was in the last two wars that blew up or something..." Kitsune replied.

"Masaka..." Relena murmured in realization.

"Huh? Nani?"

"I..ie, it's nothing, Kitsune-chan," Relena replied as she was gently led by the young girl to the garage.

_Are they...are they Gundams?_

Preventers' Hangar Base

"Here it is," Heero said to himself as he scanned the forests below him. Not far away from his current position, there was a small clearing.

Heero checked another monitor to make sure that nobody was following them. Oddly enough, there wasn't a single trace of another mobile suit pursuing them. _Hm...that's fishy..._ He swiveled his chair around to kick his younger brother awake.

"Oi, Kaitou, wake up," he said. "We're already here."

"You don't have to wake me from my dream so rudely," Kaitou grumbled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "I was already awake to begin with."

"Yeah, right," Heero replied sarcastically and swiveled back around. "I heard you snoring back there."

"I snore?"

Heero sighed in frustration. _I'm so glad that Andy isn't like this._ "Never mind. Just shut up and be ready to meet everyone."

"Whatever you say, okaasan," Kaitou saluted.

_Yep, he got this from oneesan somehow,_ Heero thought miserably to himself. Of the few people who actually got to know the real Heero Yuy, two people were able to manage to literally annoy him to death: his older sister, Kaede, and Duo Maxwell. Now his younger brother was added to the small list. _Maybe it's a sibling thing...no wait, that doesn't explain Maxwell, _Heero pondered. _Maa, he could be my second cousin for all I know, screwed up as my family is._

"Oi, aniki, what're you thinking about?" Kaitou asked, breaking his brother's train of thought.

"...Spaghetti with garlic bread," Heero replied.

"Nani?" Kaitou asked incredulously.

"Oi, I haven't eaten since forever," his brother replied in embarrassment. "So I'm hungry, okay?"

Preventers' Hangar Base

"Oniichan, do you have any gum?" Kitsune pleaded in a very childlike voice, clutching her stomach.

Andy glanced over at his "little sister" with a very bored expression on his face.

"Nande, you hungry?" he asked.

"Yeah..."

"I think I have some," Gally replied in the front seat as Kaede drove. She sifted through her meager pack of junk before finally taking out a stick of gum and handing it to Kitsune.

"Tell me again," Kaede said. "Why do _I _have to drive? And why do I have to come along?"

"You chose to come," Wufei explained, who sat on the other side of Kitsune.

"Well, that doesn't explain why I have to get the driver's seat," Kaede replied. "And aren't you Preventers supposed to take care of this case? I mean, geez, I'm a guest. Guests aren't supposed to be involved in cases like this."

"Article 18, Section 4 states that 'when one or more party members not of the Preventers unit find to be an important aspect to a Preventer case, then he or she must be kept under twenty-four hour supervision'," Andy said like a book. 

"I didn't know there was such a section in the Preventer initiation contract," Relena replied incredulously.

"Oh, Relena-san, there isn't. He's just trying to mess with my head," Kaede grumbled as she braked to a stop. "Okay, here we are. Everyone out."

Red Hawks' HQ

Roy Garret quickly took out his cell phone as he was walking back to his room.

"Yes sir?"

"Have you been able to find them?" a mechanical voice asked through the receiver.

"Hai. I've attached a tracking device on Kaitou Yuy's jacket when we were in that skirmish. It shouldn't be long until we find all of them."

"Good. However, I want all of the Yuy family except for Heero _alive_. Understood?"

"Of course, General."

Roy hung up the phone and redirected his course towards the ammunition room. A small smile crept to his lips. _I'll get you yet, Andrew Lowe._

Preventers' Hangar Base

Kaitou yawned fro the hundredth time as Heero carefully manipulated the mobile suit down to a safe landing.

"I guess it's been a while since you piloted one of these things, huh?" he commented as he began to scratch his back.

"Aa. It's been five years. I'm still amazed that I remember how to pilot it," Heero replied.

He noticed through the reflection of the monitors that Kaitou had frozen in his place. 

"Oh shit," his brother cursed.

"Nani?" Heero asked, swiveling around slightly.

Kaitou took off his leather jacket and pried out a tiny black device from the interior of his back collar. He looked at his brother with slight fear in his eyes, holding up the device for Heero to see.

"I've been tracked."

* * *

AN: Oh yes, random chapter with very little plot movement ^^. Uh...forget about the food part, I was hungry and making spaghetti while I was writing this chapter ^^;;;; R&R!


	18. Chapter Seventeen

AN: I think I watch too much of _Alias. _(That's a cool show! Darn my mom...) Anyhoo, here's the next chapter! R&R!

Oh yes, I know that the end of this chapter is kinda...weird, but just deal with it for now, I guess.

Chapter Seventeen 

"You were what?!?" Heero exclaimed in anger.

"Hell, I didn't even know that this thing was on me, honest!" Kaitou replied as he crushed the tracker in his hands.

Heero banged his fists on the dead controls. "Kuso..."

The last thing that he wanted was to let the Red Hawks force the Preventers to get involved. He knew perfectly well that they could easily overtake the Preventers, and nobody could stop them if they tried. The Red Hawks had "perfect" soldiers on their side, after all.

However, Heero Yuy also knew that panicking wasn't going to make their situation any better.

"Calm down, Kaitou," he said to his brother. "Once we tell the others what's going on, we'll figure something out."

"Yeah, I guess..." Kaitou murmured. Then he added quietly, "if we can figure out something fast enough."

Red Hawks HQ

"Gotcha," a young woman said as she pressed a button on her computer. 

Roy walked up behind her, looking at the screen. "Where are they?"

"Well, before the signal died out, they were in the XC500 area," the woman replied, her green eyes looking up at him. "There's no doubt that the Preventers base is nearby."

Roy smiled and began to leave. "Good. Tell the others. We're going to go in."

"Demo, isn't that against the General's orders?"

Roy paused in between the doorway and looked back at her. A small portion of his rebellious memory seemed to have returned. "Screw his orders. We're going to do this our way."

Preventers' Hangar Base

Unaware fo the dangers that would lie ahead of them, Relena and the others stepped out of the care and quietly waited for the mobile suit-turned-fighter plane silently land. Their eyes glanced at the black figure in a mixture of fear and awe; the plane seemed more like a black eagle than a plane, silently falling asleep.

Relena unconsciously put her hand to her chest, her heart beating louder and faster at every second that passed by. He hadn't been gone long, but she was still nervous all the same.

The silence was killing her as the sun crept further and further behind the mountains. Relena hated the dark, especially when she was around people she barely knew. Gally was an exception, of course, because she was the one who had adopted her. She only knew Wufei through name and during the very small period she had spent on the Peace Million during the war in AC195. Heero's family were more than trustworthy, but she only just found out that he HAD a family a few days ago. All these people, no matter how much she knew them nor how young they may be, were willing to protect her. This she knew. However, doubt still remained in her mind. To what extent would they protect her? To what extent could she allow them to risk their lives for a person they barely even knew?

"I wonder what's taking him so long," Wufei pondered aloud, snapping Relena out of her thoughts. "It shouldn't take that long to just get out of a plane."

"But didn't Zechs-san say that Heero was piloting a mobile suit?" Andy asked to nobody in particular.

"Depending on what kind of mobile suit it is, it could've transformed," Kaede replied knowingly. "Who knows. It's been a while since anybody's seen one."

"Hey...it's opening up," Gally announced, pointing at the plane.

No sound had uttered from the "plane" itself, but it was clearly seen that two figures stepped out of the plane. Relena held her breath, squinting her eyes as the final rays of the sun glared through them. She could make out that one of the figures was Heero, his usual stoic expression plastered on his face. The other person behind him was unrecogizable. He was noticeably taller than Heero by five inches or more with jet black hair. The Prussian blue eyes he held were strikingly familiar to Relena, and she heard Kaede utter a gasp.

"It's you..." she said.

The stranger scratched the back of his head, sheepishly smiling at her. "Oi..."

Relena finally realized, as she took a closer look, that the man's Prussian blue eyes were similar to Heero's. In fact, when they stood next to each others, the young man looked lik an exact replica of him, just a big younger with minor differences here and there. The stranger glanced desperately at Heero who seemed to be enjoying his discomfort. Relena held back a smile. _Enjoying something normal....that's a bit new._

The amusement didn't last very long, though. Kaede approached the two men and gave both hard punches in the face.

"Ow! What'd you do that for?" the young man complained, rubbing his right cheekbone.

"You can say that again," Heero muttered, doing the same on his left cheek. 

"That's for hanging up on me earlier," Kaede explained to Heero and then turned to the other man who instinctively stepped back at her threatening approaches. 

"And **_you_**...," one step closer, two steps back, "where have you been, huh?!? Getting on my case three years ago."

"I...uh...well..." the young man stammered for explaination.

"Oh, so you DID contact her," Heero said, glaring at him.

"Oh, okay...I did...."

"Oi, Yuy," Wufei cut in, a questioning look on his face and pointing at the young man. 

Heero jabbed his thumb at the man in his usual demeanor. "Minna-san, this is Kaitou Yuy, our...younger brother."

"Sou..." Relena murmured in a soft voice, but she was cut off by Andy.

"Heero, can you explain what THAT is?" Andy asked, waving his hand at the plane.

As if it knew that Andy was talking to it, the controls of the landing base suddenly operated itself to descend to the actual base itself.

"I don't think we've got time to explain," Kaitou murmured in a low voice.

"I'll explain later, but we need to get to the main base and notify Zechs and Noin what's going on," Heero said as he brushed past Relena in the underground landing pad.

"But why?" Relena asked as the others began to follow.

Heero turned back, not one flicker of emotion was in his eyes except for seriousness. "We're goign to have company."

Red Hawks' HQ

Roy Garret and his comrades waited in the hangar to find the perfect time to sneak away from Reinhardt. Their eyes were keenly focused on the area and the cameras surrounding it.

"Now tell me again, Roy," Vicks said behind him. "Why are we going against the General's orders to take in the Yuy family?"

**_'No need to tell you since you've been brainwashed by them.' _**

"Does the name Andrew Lowe strike a cord besides him being a Preventer?" Roy replied with a question of his own.

Vicks pondered for a moment. "It does sound familiar..."

"It sounds familiar to all four of us," a recovered Yukki said quietly.

"And we ant to know who he really is," another woman added. "Besides, the General's going to invade the base anyway because of Saiyuki."

"We just want to get there before he does," Roy finished as he still looked at the area. He turned towards his friends. "Yosh, move out."

Pushing all other doubting thoughts aside, the four AES soldiers began their search in finding their true memories....


	19. Chapter Eighteen

AN: I just realized...I've passed my record chapter now ^^. The most that I've ever written was seventeen and this chapter surpasses that. I feel so happy.....ANYHOOOO....

Chapter Eighteen

General Reinhardt paced around the room like a lion in a cage, clenching and unclenching his fists to control the surge of anger that was running through him. The children of seven years ago were coming back to haunt him. The pack of kids that had planned to escape from their prison by using the chips implanted into them to their advantage. Fifteen ran, ten were captured and reprogrammed. Three more were found and taken in to be brainwashed, and only two children remained missing from his grasp. Of course, they had to be the two that were the most dangerous to the world and the kids didn't even realize it.

Or did they?

Reinhardt's eyes strayed over the photos on his desk; the faces of the thirteen children who had planned to escape their experimentation seven years ago stared back at him. The thirteen he and the others involved in the project captured had recent photos of themselves in their uniforms. Four of his best AES soldiers were in this bunch: Roy, Vicks, Yukki, Marlena. These four were the most rebellious before they were reprogrammed but now they were the most loyal to him. Until now.

_Damn you, Yuy, _he cursed. _How were you able to get them to think?_

He should have never trusted Kaitou Yuy. In fact, he should have never gave a glimmer of trust towards the young man. Oh, the Yuy family were such great actors...

A knock came at the door, snapping Reinhardt's head from these brooding thoughts. "What is it?"

"General Reinhardt, the photos and files you have requested are here," a muffled voice replied behind the door. "They should be on your computer any minute now."

"Good. How much longer until we arrive at our destination?" Reinhardt asked.

"In about an hour, sir."

"Any word from the Skulls?"

"Ie, they haven't responded. I think that they're using private lines to communicate."

_Chikuso..._he thought. "Thank you, Saiyuki. Go back to your post."

"Hai."

Reinhardt went over to his computer, typing in random commands until he received the files he was looking for. He knew he had heard the name Kanzaki somewhere. When his predecessor had died and passed on the leadership to him, all files of the beginning of the AES project had simply disappeared. Missing files included the two children who remained hidden from the world until now. Their names struck a cord in his memory bank. _So they ARE them..._

He left the room and headed towards the cockpit, fixed on getting to the Preventers' base sooner. The computer screen was left on, screaming out the two names of the missing two children: 

Andrew and Setsuko Lowe.

Preventers' Hangar Base

"So, you're telling us that those Red Hawks are headed towards this area right NOW?" Zechs asked Heero with a small hint of suspicion in his voice.

However, Heero remained to keep the truth as it was, his eyes calm. "Exactly. From personal experience, they can reach this area in another hour since the time they tracked this location."

"That fast..." Noin murmured.

Heero glanced at Kaitou who in turn handed Zechs the disk that Heero had taken information from the Red Hawks headquarters earlier.

"That's all the information you need about the Red Hawks. From store house facilities to how they obtained the materials to make over five thousand mobile suits in a factory on Greenland," Heero explained.

"Five thousand mobile suits?!?" Zechs exclaimed. 

"Around there," Kaitou said, scratching the back of his head. "I kind of estimated how much were here and how many were being made over in Greenland with the materials they collected."

Zechs' eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion. "How long have you spied on the Red Hawks?"

Kaitou shrugged. "About a couple of months, why?"

"Who are you working for?"

Kaitou glanced back at his brother who shrugged in reply. "It's standard Preventer procedure, Kaitou. Everyone has to go through it."

_Damn,_ Kaitou thought as he slowly replied, "I can't tell you who my boss is or what organization I'm working for. All I can say is that I'm doing this for personal reasons. It has nothing to do with my employer."

_That's the same reason that Kaede-san gave us, _Noin thought. _How ironic._

"I don't think it really matters, now," Heero interrupted. "Reinhardt has already sent his men, probably the most elite unit first."

Zechs arched a curious eyebrow. "The most elite?"

The alarms sounded, something that hadn't been heard in over seven years.

"What in the---" Zechs trailed off as he glanced up at the alarms.

"They're here," Heero said.

"Who's here?" Noin asked curiously.

someplace else in the base...

"I thought you said that you knew the password, Marlena?" Vicks asked as he and the others that quickly ran through the hallways of the underground Preventer base.

"I thought I did, too. Guess not," Marlena grinned sheepishly.

"Figures," Roy replied, arching an eyebrow. "I always find it amazing how you can keep such an optimistic personality especially after all the training we went through."

"Hey, just being a part of the Red Hawks deosn't mean that I have to be a robot," Marlena retorted, which made the other three nearly fall to the ground. "Hmm? Nani?"

"Why does that make sense and sound so familiar to me?" Yukki pondered, unbothered by the red bangs covering her eyes.

A loud boom made them all stop in the empty hallway, their heads turning at the source of the sound. Instinctively, all their doubts began to rise.

"He found us," Yukki murmured.

"Ie, he's after the Yuy family," Roy reassured her. "Let's just keep going."

Preventer Hangar main area

Roy's assumptions proved to be true; General Reinhardt launched a full scale attack on the Preventer base, and with few experienced members on duty, it was a rather easy task for his AES soldiers to take over. They were much faster, much stronger, and much smarter than any of the Preventers there. Most were immediately killed while the rest of the AES soldiers he had brought along with him began to search for the more prepared Preventers.

_Come on, where are they? _he thought impatiently to himself as he paced down the hallways nearby.

"General Reinhardt, sir!" an AES soldier came up towards him. He saluted before Reinhardt allowed the soldier to speak. "Sir, we've managed to capture Heero Yuy and some other members of his family including other people of high importance."

Reinhardt's head snapped up, his eyes suddenly filled with a mixture of anticipation and interest. "You have? Bring them here."

The soldier had left to retrieve them, and a few minutes later, Heero, Kaitou, Relena, Zechs, and Noin were brought into the hallway. A smile of victory was creeping to Reinhardt's lips as he regarded Heero's look of contempt towards him.

"Well, well, well, isn't it the ever elusive Heero Yuy and some highly esteemed Preventers," Reinhardt began. His eyes locked with Relena's. "It's also nice to see you again, Prime Minister Dorlain."

Relena's eyes widened in shock, for she recognized this man. He had attended several political meetings with the United Earth's Sphere. "You...." _He's the leader of the Red Hawks?!?_

"Aa, how ironic that a man like me, a simple represenative, would be the leader to one of the most secretive and powerful rebel faction?" Reinhardt said. He looked at Heero and Kaitou. "And you two, such a surprise. You've both fooled me once and it's not going to happen again. Now let me kindly ask you two, where are they?"

"I have no idea who you're talking about, Reinhardt," Heero growled in disgust.

Reinhardt chuckled in sinister amusement before he walked over to Heero and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pointing a gun in his face.

"Oh, I'm very sorry, Yuy, if you didn't hear me clearly enough," Reinhardt growled back as Heero continued to look at him with disgust. "Where are they? Your precious cousins that you hid away seven years ago?"

Before Heero could reply, a familiar voice answered, "Right here."

On opposite ends of the hallway, Andy and Kitsune stepped out of their hiding places, unusually calm. Reinhardt slightly loosened his grip on Heero as he saw Andy at the end of the hallway, but before he could speak, the teenager interrupted him:

"If you think that it's going to be that easy for us to follow you," Andy nodded to Kitsune on the other end behind Reinhardt and a small group of AES soldiers, his sister acknowledged back, "think again."

Kitsune put a hand across her chest, concentrationg on the source hidden deep inside her mind. In a few seconds, both Kitsune and Andy's eyes turned glowing white. The AES soldiers looked back and forth at the siblings in confusion, feeling the heat the was emitting off of their bodies. Reinhardt's eyes widened in surprise.

"You...you're the ones..." he began.

"Let them go," Andy ordered with his pupiless white eyes staring at him, "or else we'll blow this place to oblivion."


	20. Chapter Nineteen

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Uh...just a warning (especially to my twin) about the ending. Don't kill me! I swear, I had to do it!!

Chapter Nineteen

"Obliterate this place?" Reinhardt calmly asked, glancing at Andy and Kitsune in turns. He waved his free hand at his captives. "If you two decide to self destruct, do you realize that you're endangering all life in a one mile radius or more? This includes the very people whom you want me to release."

An unnerving silence swept over the area as the temperature in the hallway began to rise. Fear slowly began to possess the AES soldiers' minds, their eyes frantically searching for a way out only to meet the glowing white eyes. Contrary to what the scientists who had experimented on them thought, they did have emotions like ordinary humans. The emotions were only suppressed. 

After a few minutes of silence, Andy's lips curled into an arrogant smile, one that seemed out of character for him.

"Yeah, we know that," he replied.

"But nobody's afraid to die except for your soldiers," Kitsune added from the opposite side.

Reinhardt's eyes slightly widened in shock, and he turned around to look at his soldiers and their captives. Fear should have been in their captives' eyes, but it was replaced by a strange sense of calm. As he took a glance at each of his soldiers' eyes, he could tell that they were desperately trying to hide their fear. He silently cursed to himself. He had forgotten that these children had never experienced the threat of death. They were too inhuman, too skillful and fast to know what death was like. It was these two missing children who understood them, thanks to Heero Yuy. He stared into the other man's eyes now, which were impassive as ever.

_Damn him, damn them, _he mentally cursed to himself as he could feel the heat coming from Andy and Kitsune as their biological clocks began to wind down. His grip on his handgun began to slack off, but it didn't entirely want to let go just yet.

The decision was all up to him. To let go of the very man who had ruined the original project or to let go of the very lives that was solely needed for the plan to succeed?

in another area of the base

Kaede led Gally through hallway after hallway, frantically running away from any AES soldiers that came in.

"Kaede-san, where exactly are we going?" Gally shouted as loud as she could over the wailing alarms.

"What do you think? Heero's communication was cut off," the older woman simply replied.

This did not help Gally one bit. "Meaning?"

"Meaning that they got caught! We have to find any free Preventers around to rally up and help them!"

"Demo, Andy and Kitsune-chan are going there."

Kaede abruptly came to a halt, making Gally collide against her. She swiftly turned around to face Gally, staring at her straight in the eye.

"That makes things even worse," she said.

"Naze?" Gally asked.

"You have no idea what those two possess," Kaede replied quietly, a distant look in her eyes. She quickly snapped out of it, however, and began to look for a room suitable for them to hide. 

She ran to a random door, inputting random codes on the control panel. After around four failed attempts, she punched at the control panel, hard. It had literally caved in, curving her fist. Some sparks of electricity shot out and the steel door reluctantly let go of its comfortable position to a small opening. Kaede pushed the rest of the door open and shoved Gally inside before she herself entered. Gally gasped as the cold tip of a gun touched her bare neck, but Kaede had quickly took out her handgun and aimed at their unknown attacker in the darkness. 

"Who are you?" a familiar voice demanded.

Kaede blinked. "Wufei?"

"Kaede-san?" Wufei's voice asked back, a red light flashing by to illuminate his face.

Both quickly put away their weapons and Wufei went over to slide the door closed. 

"Sumanu, Gally," he apologized to the teenager. "I didn't know it was you."

"Da..." Gally stammered, realizing that she had held her breath. "Daijoubu."

"Oh, what an ironic place to hide," Kaede commented, placing her hand on a blank TV screen. "The surveillance room."

"It's pretty bad out there," Wufei informed them. "I wasn't surprised to find this room empty."

"What happened to the people in here?" Gally asked, remembering that she had seen a schedule of duties in the conference room while exploring the new base earlier. 

"Dead," Wufei curtly replied. "I found them in the other room."

to the four AES' situation

Roy skidded to a halt and slid to a nearby locker bay to avoid detection. For the first time, he felt tired and out of breath. As other AES soldiers passed by him, he carefully watched them to see if they were out of hearing distance before he turned on his communicator earpiece.

"How's it going, guys?" he asked.

"Haven't had much luck in trying to find somebody alive and kicking," Vicks reported in. "All I see are dead bodies everywhere."

"They sure did their work," Marlena commented. "Our friends aren't giving into any mercy."

_Damn, I didn't expect for Reinhardt to act so quickly, _Roy thought, frowning. _We came a bit too late._

"Yukki, how about you?"

A muffled cough was the reply at first before she managed to say, "It's a tight squeeze going through these ducts, but I haven't found anybody either. Alive, anyway."

"What about you, Roy?" Vicks asked curiously, interrupting their conversation. "Did you find him?"

"Ie," he replied. A pause. "Yosh. Keep on looking. We're bound to find someone useful." 

_If they're not dead already, _he mentally added.

After ending transmission, Roy noticed a glowing whit light not far from his position. He silently crept closer to the light, noticing a drastic change in temperature. Beads of sweat dripped down the side of his face as he came closer and closer to the end. The heat was close to unbearable, but Roy forced himself to focus on his goal. When he reached the end of the corridor, back pressed against the wall, he was surprised to see that the source of the light and the heat came from a young girl.

_What in the?!?_

back to the self destruction situation

Unaware of Roy's presence, seconds ticked by then minutes. It finally came to the point where Andy could "feel" that his "sister" was getting uncomfortable with the inferno boiling inside her. Andy's white eyes narrowed.

Heero couldn't tell if his cousin was narrowing at Reinhardt or him. He assumed it was both because he could sense that the young man was getting his mental thoughts. He could also tell that Kaitou was slowly, silently picking away at the lock of his handcuffs; it would only be a matter of time before the tide was turned. He listlessly stared at Reinhardt so that he wouldn't notice anything. Reinhardt at the moment seemed to be occupied with his own thoughts.

Kitsune was trying really hard to keep her mind away from that "button" that would end it all: the button that would destroy the Preventer base and everything hidden in it.

_Kitsune, hold on for a bit longer_, came her brother's request.

_I'm trying, but it's really hard, oniichan!_ she replied. _I can't hold on forever, you know!_

"Well? What are you going to do?" Andy calmly demanded.

Reinhardt, snapping out his thoughts, met Andy's "eyes". A small smile crept to his lips as a cruel idea came to his mind.

"What am I going to do?" he repeated, slowly lowering his handgun. Heero's eyes followed the gun's position, realizing that Reinhardt hadn't let go of the trigger. "This."

He let go of Heero as he pulled the trigger, its boom echoing in the hallways despite the alarms. A surge of pain rushed through Heero's mind as he fell to the metal ground with a deafening thud. Blood began to spill out of his wound like water, slowly draining away the life in him.

And Relena screamed.


	21. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

A bullet passed through his body, blood spilling out of his fresh wound like water. 

And Relena screamed.

Her scream snapped Kitsune from the self destruction device, both her and Andy's eyes turning back to normal. "Hee-chan!"

Reinhardt was prepared to take another shot, but Andy sped through the crowd of dazed AES soldiers to knock out the gun in his hands. Kaitou took this opportunity to break free of the handcuffs and knocked the wind out of one AES soldier before he had even realized it. Kitsune ran at the AES soldiers in a rage, knocking down five of the soldiers before reaching Relena, Zechs, and Noin. She quickly broke their handcuffs with her bare hands.

"Daijoubu?" she asked them.

"We're fine," Noin replied.

"Heero...what about Heero?" Relena asked, shaken.

After dodging what would have been a knockout punch from Andy, Reinhardt turned towards his shoulders, shouting, "What are you doing just standing there?!? Get them!"

Roy growled in anger from his position, taking out a smoke bomb. _I've got to help them. _He threw the bomb into the hallway, letting the smoke fill the area as he made his entrance.

"We've got to get out of here," he could hear Kaitou say who was lifting Heero's limp body over his shoulder and putting pressure on the wound to keep the blood from pouring out.

"But how are we going to get out?" he could hear Noin ask, supporting a shaken Relena.

"You can follow me," Roy finally spoke. He could hear two guns being pointed in his direction.

"Who's there?" Kaitou and Zechs demanded. 

Roy stepped into their vision. Andy's eyes widened in surprise. "Roy?"

"Come on, we've got to move," Roy said, allowing no other interruption. "This smoke isn't going to last long."

He led them away from Reinhardt and the others, running just fast enough form them to follow. When the smoke had cleared and Reinhardt's vision returned, they were gone.

Preventer air duct system...yes you have read this right

The air ducts, she concluded, were a form of torture. Kisaragi Yukki was a woman to be considered lucky to survive the explosion at the hospital. She was completely healed within a day and a half, but it didn't mean that her mental scars were healed. She paused and flinched again as a nearby explosion rattled the safety of the airduct. Murmuring some soothing words to herself, she gathered the courage to continue on her journey in the dark tunnel.

"Man, I hate being the smallest," she muttered to herself, pulling her weight forward to the next vent. "I always get stuck with the nitty-gritty stuff."

She ceased talking as her heightened vision and hearing caught movement and speech below her. _Finally! someone alive for once._ She peered through the vent and saw three figures in the room. Two were socializing with each other while the third sat silently in the corner, watching the surveillance screens.

"Wufei, you know this place better than I do," a familiar voice said. Yukki quickly recognized it to be Kaede Yuy. "Is there a hidden exit that you know of?"

"You intending to leave the others here?" Wufei asked nonchalantly. Yukki didn't know who he was, but she guessed that he was a Preventer by the look of his clothing.

"Ie, of course not," Kaede replied. "If I can just get some communication through Heero, I can tell him to meet us there."

"What makes you think that Heero-san isn't dead yet?" the third figure finally spoke out, tearing her eyes away from the screens. "We just saw him get shot."

"Gally, you don't know who---" Wufei was about to say, but Kaede waved her hand for silence.

"Ssh, ssh, I think someone's here," Kaede explained. "Let me listen for a sec."

Yukki's eyes widened in surprise. _How could she hear me? I'm not making any noise._

"I don't hear anything," Gally said after a few minutes. 

However, Kaede had turned to the direction of the vent above them, her eyes staring right into Yukki's. "I know you're up there, just get out before you get hurt."

Slowly, Yukki punched open the vent and let herself down. She brushed away a few bits of dust here and there before straightening herself to let the others see her face. Kaede gasped.

"Oi, you're the---"

"The soldier who tried to poison your cousin?" Yukki finished, brushing back a strand lock of hair. "Hai."

"You're an AES soldier?" Gally murmured in curiosity.

Noticing the look of suspicion in both Kaede and Wufei's eyes, Yukki began to explain herself, "It's not what you think. My friends and I came here on our own accord to find Andrew Lowe. See?" She waved her arms in a sign of surrender. "I'm unarmed. The only electronic device I have on me is my communicator."

"Sou ka," Kaede said, still a bit wary. "But why do you want to talk to Andy for?"

Yukki hesitated for a moment before softly replying, "I know him....somehow. Not just by name, either."

Wufei arched a curious eyebrow, not understanding. However, Kaede seemed to know what the younger woman was talking about as her eyes softened with sympathy.

"You're one of the originals, aren't you?" she asked.

Yukki nodded. "From what I was told."

A sudden static noise came into the room, startling everyone inside except for Yukki who quickly stopped the noise from her earring.

"Yukki here, what is it?" she asked.

"Yukki, where are you?" came Roy's voice. "We need to find a way out of here. I found them, but one's injured and injured badly. Vicks and Marlena aren't responding; I think they're already gone."

Yukki's eye flinched slightly at the news, but she didn't let anyone see. If two of her "friends" were killed by their own kind for betrayal, she knew that they probably died fighting them.

"I'm in the surveillance room," she replied without emotion. She looked at Kaede and added, "I've also found some survivors."

If Roy was surprised or not, he didn't let it show in his voice.

"Okay, that's good. There should be a map in one of the drawers of the filing cabinet. Can you look to see if there is an area that isn't marked on the map?" 

_What kind of question is that? _Yukki asked herself as she sifted through a filing cabinet nearby under the watchful yet curious eyes of the room's inhabitants. Eventually she took out a map and opened it.

"Anno...where are you?" she asked.

She heard gunshots and the murmurs of some people in the background before Roy replied, "Block D-7."

Her eyes quickly scanned the map before finding his location. She pointed at an area left empty and turned to Wufei. "You're a Preventer, right? Do you know of any exits or areas that were left unmarked from the map?"

Wufei stood next to her, eyeing the Preventer map carefully. Then he pointed to the same area she was pointing at. "There's a passageway that leads to the underground hangar. You can practically exit the base unnoticed since very few know of its whereabouts." 

"Yosh, Roy, got to block E-3. There should be a hidden passage in one of the quads," Yukki said to her communicator.

"Okay, we'll meet you there."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Ah, yeah, blase chapter, I know. I couldn't think of anything else to write ^^. Anyhoo, ending coming soon, just hope you don't kill me for it ^^;;;;; R&R!


	22. Chapter TwentyOne

AUTHORESS NOTES: Uh....hehehehehehe.....*sweatdrop*

Chapter Twenty-One

"How long until we reach the E-block?" Roy asked to nobody in particular as he and the others rand through the empty hallways of the Preventer base.

"It's not far now," Zechs shouted back, carefully helping his pregnant wife along. "Once you reach the second corridor, make a left."

"Yeah, and we need to make an emergency stop to patch up Heero here," Kaitou added as he dragged his older brother's limp body along with him. Heero had been in and out of consciousness, but now it was more unconsciousness than before; the blood was still continuing to drain out of his body between the cracks of Kaitou's rusted gloved hand.

Relena, silently running in the back with Kitsune behind her to keep her moving along, let her eyes drift from the thin trail of blood to the seemingly lifeless form of Heero Yuy. She silently prayed that they would reach the hangar in time to help Heero. 

to...the other situation

Wufei involuntarily let out a cough as he, Kaede, Yuuki, and Gally crawled through the air ducts. They all had to crawl in a single file due to the tiny width of the air vents with Wufei last in line. He had never imagined tha the would ever be INSIDE the air ducts and now regretted the fact that the clean up crew had never cleaned them since the creation of the base three years ago.

"Sorry about the lack of comfort in the transporation department," Yukki echoed back to the others as she led the way. "Demo, this is the only way we can get through without getting detected, I think."

"You think? That's reassuring," Gally commented softly.

"Maa, it depends on how much noise we make with all the alarms going off," Yukki explained to her, brushing away yet again a stray lock of hair. "We're very good at hearing, but it's easy to distract our depth by the amount of noise. The only person who are really good at keeping their hearing focused is Roy."

"So, you can't hear as well in, say, at a party?" 

"Well, yeah. We hear too many things going on at once. Sometimes its stuff that we don't _want_ to hear and we hear it anyway."

Wufei chuckled silently to himself at this comment and almost rammed his head into Kaede's butt if it wasn't for his quick reaction timing. Yukki had called for silence in the front. At first, he heard nothing but the sounds of the alarms, but eventually the sounds of gunfire ran in his ears. Gunfire the seemed to be aiming for them. Gally stifled her scream and covered her head as bullets bounced off the flimsy metal of the air vent. The others quickly reacted by protecting any vitals that were vulerable to the gunfire as it became louder and louder with every passing minute in the vunerable position that they were in. 

And just as soon as it had started, the gunfire ceased. With the exception of Gally, the others slowly lifted their heads and waited.

"We know that you're in there, traitor!" a deep, male voice shouted. "Why don't you stop playing these games and face your death like a real AES soldier."

"Kuso..." Wufei could hear Yukki's voice echo from her position.

"...What now?" he asked, not addressing anybody in particular. Chang Wufei wasn't afraid of death, even if it meant that he died before marrying the woman that he loved who was patiently awaiting for his return.

Yet for some reason, fear and foreboding grew in the pit of his stomach. 

"I'll cover for you," Yukki slowly replied. She took off her communicator, crushing it in her tiny hands, and ripped out the silver chain dangling around her neck. "Just keep on going."

"Demo, we can't leave you---" Gally protested, but she fell silent when Kaede gently touched her ankle and shook her head.

"I understand, arigatou," Kaede said in an emotionless voice, but her eyes showed a great deal of gratitude and respect. She turned to Wufei behind her. "Wufei, can you guide?"

He silently nodded. 

Yukki turned around halfway and handed the silver chain to Gally. "Give this to Roy. He'll know what happened."

Biting the bottom of her lip, Gally hesitantly nodded. Yukki smiled and then punched open the vent below her, descending. Her face was carved like a stone and her eyes were prepared for the worse. She could hear Gally, Kaede, and Wufei shuffle ahead, but she didn't let the others know or give them the chance to. She looked at each and every one of the soldiers in front of her. These very same people were once her childhood friends, her comrades. They had shared the same values that she had shared before encountering the falling events of the national Vancouver address assassination attempt of Prime Minister Dorlain. Before meeting a man named Andrew Lowe who looked so familiar in his unconscious state that she hesitated for the first time in bringing death upon a human being. She had wanted to find out who he was and why she knew him, but that chance would never come now. It probably was never to have been.

The AES soldiers aimed their weapons at her body as she lifted her hands in surrender and closed her eyes, waiting for Death to welcome her. Without mercy, without any sympathy, they fired.

Hangar

"Okay, so where does this go?" a familiar voice faded in the darkness.

"Red button," another replied. "No, that's green. I said, red, Andy."

_What's going on?_

The metal shaft opened in a loud clang, revealing the gateway to freedom. Still, Heero could not comprehend what was going on.

_My eyes....I want to open my eyes, but why can't I open them?_

"Yosh," another voice said. "Somebody apply some pressure there. Oi, where are they?"

"They should have been here by now," someone replied. Someone that he couldn't recognize.

Heero heard someone tear something, but he wasn't quite sure; a slight pressure was applied on his side. He involuntarily flinched at the touch.

"Heero," a soft voice called to him, the only voice that seemed comprehendible to his head. He struggled to force his body awake, his eyes straining to open, but a cool hand felt his forehead. The touch soothed his panic, if only a little.

"Heero, you have to keep still," the same voice pleaded in his ear. This time, however, he finally managed to open his eyes.

He stared into the familiar depths of an ocean, an ocean that looked scared and too weak to fight. "Relena..."

"Ah! Finally got out of there!" Kaede's voice exclaimed from afar. "I thought that we would never get out."

"You can say that again," Wufei murmured, vainly trying to dust off the soot from his clothes.

"I guess..." Gally said softly, too absorbed in her own thoughts.

"Where's Yukki?" Roy asked.

Without looking at him, Gally slowly pulled out the silver chain necklace that Yukki had given her and handed it to Roy. He looked at Gally quizzically and then stared down at the necklace. A pang of hurt swept over his cool interior as he understood the meaning of the necklace. And again he wondered to himself why Reinhardt was so cruel in indirectly taking the lives of the very children he had created and brought up to overthrow the government. His hand enclosed the necklace in anger.

Kitsune, with tears that were deathly close on falling, cried out, "Kaede-neechan!!"

Roy's head turned at the direction of her voice, looking at her with a blank expression as she sat down beside the man who had been her uncle, her guardian. Kitsune's hand was over Heero's wound to keep the blood stabalized, but Roy could clearly see that the blood was already beginning to seep through the cloth she had torn from her jacket. Relena sat in front of Heero's limp body, his head resting in her lap. Kaede had rushed over to the two younger woman to attend to her brother.

Heero slowly closed his eyes, too weak to keep them open any longer.

"Heero, Heero!"

His eyes snapped open at the familiarity of the new voice. A pair of warm hands cupped his face, lifting his head to face the voice's owner. He could barely recognize the features of his older sister's face as his vision began to blur.

"Heero, stay with me, okay?" Kaede asked. "Try to stay awake."

Slowly, he nodded, his eyes telling her: _Get me out of here._

"Can you help him?" Relena asked as Kaede released her hold on Heero to get to work.

"As long as those AES soldiers don't find us," Kaede replied, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt. "Kitsune-chan, help me take off his shirt. Your cloth and your hand isn't enough to stop the bleeding. We need to compress the wound more."

"Uh...hai..." Kitsune stammered, following her "aunt's" orders.

"What should I do?" Relena asked again, desparately wanting to help the two relatives somehow. She watched the two quickly unbutton the dress shirt.

"You can just keep him comfy," Kaede replied lightly. Then she looked up at her and winked as she carefully and quickly took Heero's arm out of one sleeve. "I don't think he minds being in your lap."

Relena blushed furiously as she watched Heero's eyes try to take in the situation. He was murmuring something that she couldn't quite hear, so she leaned in a bit closer, her face just inches away from his. 

"Nani?" When she heard just a murmur, she leaned in even closer until she finally heard:

"Have to...destroy this place."

"Nani?!?"

A loud boom echoed in the hangar, distracting Relena for the moment. Zechs, Noin, and Andy discovered a private jet that was miraculously left untouched. Andy had just finished igniting the engine for the keys were missing indefinitely. He poked his head out of the side window, his midnight hair flying in all directions of the wind.

"Oi, we're ready to go!" he shouted over the jets. "How's Heero?"

Another boom echoed in the opposite direction of the jet, coming from the entrance of the hangar. Roy, who had decided to keep an eye out for the soldiers to finally catch up to them, loaded his gun and turned to Kaede.

"We don't have enough time," he said.

"Kitsune-chan, go ahead with Roy," Kaede said to the young girl. "Relena-san and I will catch up."

Reluctantly, the girl nodded and followed Roy to the jet as Kaede tore Heero's shirt in half lengthwise and slipped part of it under his back, aiming to tie a knot.

"This is going to hurt," she warned him.

He nodded, his vision returning to normal. Kaede tied the cloth around his ribs tightly. He gritted his teeth in pain, but as soon as it came, the pain had disappeared. A minor irritation lingered now.

"I...can go on my own," Heero said just loud enough for his sister and Relena to hear. 

Kaede had only lifted him up halfway, staring at him with disbelief. "No, you're not, Heero. You lost a lot of blood."

Ignoring his sister's comment, he effortlessly stood up, shaking away the dizziness as gravity hit him again. "I'm fine."

Kaede eyed him suspiciously as Heero stretched out his limbs a bit before returning her stare. 

"I told you I'm fine! Get to the plane before it takes off," Heero growled in annoyance.

Kaede gave in to her brother's implied request, sighing in defeat. She walked passed him, touching Relena's shoulder gently to follow. Yet Relena vehemently shook her head, also knowing what Heero was intending to do. She had heard his thoughts after all. Kaede sighed again and headed to the jet alone. They needed some business to be settled.

Heero looked at Relena with a tired look in his eyes. "Relena..."

"Ie, I'm not going!" she exclaimed angrily, looking up at him. "I know what you're going to do, and I'm not letting you sacrafice yourself again to save me!"

Another boom echoed in the hangar. The AES soldiers were breaking through the second barricade. He didn't have that much time left.

"I'm not going to die, Relena," he tried to explain.

"I don't believe you!" she retorted, tears in her eyes. "I'm not leaving unless you go with me."

Hesitating for a brief second, Heero took Relena by the hand and led her to the jet. She was at first surprised by his reaction; she had thought that he would at least give another reason to leave and force her to go into their only hopes of escape. Either that or let her stay with him. Too lost in her thoughts, Relena almost didn't notice that Heero was beginning to bleed again.

"Heero, you're---"

She was cut short by his kiss, taking her by surprise yet again. However, she submitted to his actions by returning them with her own until he broke the kiss off. His damp forehead touched hers and she stared up into his closed eyes.

"Aishiteru," he murmured and opened his eyes. "And I promise you that I will be back."

Before Relena could react, he lifted her up to the jet's open door as it began to turn and walked back. Relena tried to jump out of the jet, but Kaede held her back, her Prussian blue eyes frowning at her brother with disagreement. Yet he nodded at her and headed for the control panel as the jet lifted and flew away to safety.

She had tried so hard to keep him where he was, but she didn't know that it was too late.

Too late for him to run now.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to the empty space around him.

on the jet

"Kaede, let me go! Andy, please turn back! We have to get Heero!" Relena pleaded with Heero's siblings as Kaede still held her back from the open door.

Andy's lips set to a thin, straight line as he continued his course, ignoring her plea and his own heart to get his cousin back. Roy, sitting in the co-pilot seat, eyed Andy with vague curiousity before staring back out the windo, watching the vast forest disappearing under them.

"Why won't you turn back?" Relena pleaded after some minutes of silence, looking at everyone in the plane.

"...We can't," Kaitou quietly replied, the first words he had spoken since they had entered the hangar. Kitsune sniffled in his arms, turning away from Relena to not let her see the tears.

"Why not?" 

Every person in the jet she turned to had the same look on their faces. Every face said the same thing that she didn't want to understand.

This was what he had wanted.

Preventers base

They finally blasted open the final barricade, piling into the hangar like flies. Heero guessed that there were about two thousand or so soldiers, but it didn't really matter to him anymore. Their leader was with them and that alone was enough.

"Search the area!" Reinahardt ordered for he hadn't yet noticed Heero yet.

"There's no need to," Heero called out, casually leaning against the control panel of the hangar above them. All attention turned to him. "They're gone."

Reinhardt smiled, slowly, cautiously, as he looked up and stared into Heero's eyes. He pointed his gun at Heero's wound. "I'm surprised that you're not dead yet."

Heero shrugged. "I'm surprised that you didn't find us sooner. I did leave a good trail of blood to follow."

When Reinhardt didn't respond, Heero pushed off the control panel to stand up straight and stare down at the soldiers. The pain from his bullet wound disappeared; it didn't really bother him anymore. All guns were aimed at him, but he wasn't afraid. Heero Yuy had never been afraid of death since the day his older brother died.

He was only afraid of his family being hunted after again. 

"I won't let you take them," he said after a few minutes of silence. "Nor will I let your soldiers find them."

Reinhardt arched a curious eyebrow, oblivious to Heero's plan. "Nani?"

Heero turned his head at the control panel behind him and calmly pressed the self destruct button.

Explosives the long remained dormant since its construction fufilled its dark duty. The Preventer base exploded in a large ball of flame and ashes along with its inhabitants.

In the jet, Kitsune Lowe opened her eyes, not letting the tears fall anymore.


	23. Epilogue

Epilogue

A single tear slid down her slender, porcelain cheek as she remembered that fateful day when her brother had sacraficed his life to save them. She had never understood his reason why he had done what he did, she probably never will. She still didn't understand why he hid the face that he was her older brother, not her uncle.

Setsuko "Kitsune" Lowe gazed across the vast forests of Vancouver, Canada, before she would leave her next assignment. Preventer work wasn't as stressful as it used to be, nor as hectic once they had found the remnants of the Red Hawks' factories across space and beyond. It had been a quiet period for the past seven years.

Her eyes caught the sight of new growth far from what a normal person's eye could see; the new growth was from the site where the base had blow up so many years before. And lying there, somewhere, was her brother Heero Yuy in the ruins. yet they never found his body. Possibly, he had escaped. Possibly, he could be out there watching over them in the shadows like how he used to do with Relena. It seemed impossible for anybody to survive, but Heero Yuy was a man who had the devil's luck.

Kitsune smiled to herself, grasping onto the necklace that Relena had given to her for her sweet sixteen.

"I know you're still out there, Hee-chan," she whispered to the winds. "And Relena-san will be waiting for you." 

Taking one last look at the scenery, Kitsune turned back and walked away to her vehicle, unaware of the shadow that had been watching her in the trees.

And Prussian blue eyes smiled back at her.

AUTHORESS NOTES: Yay, the end! Ah, so it wasn't really a good ending. I know, I kinda rushed at the last few chapters but only because I had this fic on for so long, that I just wanted to end it. Maybe someday I'll rewrite the last couple of chapters and add new ones in to describe why Roy and the other AES soldiers (Yukki, Vicks, etc.) changed their minds, but that'll be a long way from now. Although this epilogue is kinda lingering, I'm not doing a sequel. Instead, I'll be working on side stories to True Victor dealing with the other G-boys and what had happened to them during the seven year lapse between the fic and the end of Endless Waltz. That won't be up until a while, though, either.

Anyhoo, I thank you all who have read this and hoped you enjoyed it! See you in the next GW fic!

~Ayame-chan


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